Gilda Is Official!

Yesterday we met with Janet at the hospital for our final mentoring session! Gilda was visibly more relaxed but still vigilant. While still uncomfortable, she was willing to get on and off of the elevator each time.

After signing in at the Volunteer Office, we set off for the 7th floor to visit a 4 year old on the 'Special Request' list. Gilda did well during the visit and was able to visit another child on the floor.

We had 2 visits on the 8th floor even helping to quiet a young patient who was crying about taking medicine. The sight of a dog outside her doorway seemed to make her more willing to cooperate in effort to get a better look at Gilda! The second patient was a 6 or 7 year-old boy who was lying on his belly in bed. He happily chatted away about his pet cats and then asked if we could bring Gilda to his house to meet them! (I explained that his cats probably wouldn't appreciate being herded).

In an effort not to overstimulate her, we took Gilda to a sitting area where she put herself in a down position and was relaxed. 3 'tween' boys came from the elevator and spent some time petting and interacting with her. Gilda remained facing them and interested for the entire visit which made me wonder if a visit to 8100 might be more her speed after all.

Gilda really did well and it's my hope that she gets more comfortable with each visit.

I am excited to get some visits scheduled and working toward building Gilda's confidence while in the hospital. WTG Gilda on a huge dog accomplishment!!!

Gilda Goes A Calling...

On Saturday, May 7, 2011, I met with Janet at Akron Children's Hospital for Gilda's first official  Doggie Brigade visit. We arrived early and I could tell that Gilda was slightly stressed. She seemed nervous about new noises, flooring changes, carts moving, new smells, and probably some things that I was completely unaware of. After signing in at the Volunteer Office, we sat near the Locust Lobby. Despite her nerves, she was visibly excited each time a new person (especially a young one) appeared. She was eager to greet people with her tail wagging.

When Janet arrived, we walked to the Main Lobby and took the dreaded elevator to the 7th floor. After finding many rooms still darkened at 9:00am, we found a 1 year-old awake and sitting on the couch with his Mother. Gilda approached politely and sniffed the little boy's foot and the surrounding area. The patient had little reaction. While I was trying to get Gilda to touch his foot with her nose, the little guy suddenly let out a wail which startled Gilda (and me!) We ended that visit not wanting to upset the patient any further.

As we were walking down a hallway on the 6th floor, a family member asked if we could visit a young girl who was getting ready for surgery. The patient asked if Gilda could get on the bed with her so Janet went to the Clean Supply Room to get a clean sheet. Although Gilda was capable of jumping onto the bed, I chose to lift her up so that she wouldn't land on any part of the patient. In the past, when placed on a bed, Gilda has always curled up next to the patient. Today, however, she was quite tentative. I gave her the 'down' command and she obliged but was still quite stiff. As the patient was reaching to pet her, Gilda turned her head as far away as she could. I could tell that she wanted to get down but I tried to calm her so that the patient could pet her. I am not sure what was bothering her but it could have been many things. There were 4 or 5 visitors in the room, the little girl was wearing a pulse ox on one of her fingers which glows red, etc. I lowered Gilda to the floor and folded the sheet in toward the middle and dropped it into the Dirty Linen Bin in the patient's room. I made sure to give the patient some Hand Sanitizer since she did pet Gilda and we ended the visit.

Next, we walked across the hallway to visit a boy who was laying in bed. He seemed content to look at Gilda while she stood on the floor so we just had a brief visit that way.

By this time, we had taken the elevator 3 times and Gilda was pulling on the leash and acting skittish. Janet and I decided to walk back to the Volunteer Office to go over our training paperwork.

I was actually thrilled with the day. It takes Gilda some time to get used to new surroundings and what is expected of her in those surroundings and my goal was not to push her too far too fast. After all, if visiting isn't fun for Gilda then it's not going to be fun for the patients.

Next Saturday we will travel back to the hospital for the 2011 Doggie Brigade group photo! 95 dogs and their handlers are invited so it should be a riot...