ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – Carilion Clinic and Saint Francis Service Dogs are teaming up to bring the first pediatric facility dog to the region.
On Tuesday, November 12 at 11:00 a.m. they brought Wali in as the first pediatric dog to support young patients at the Clinic in Tanglewood Center.
Wali will be working with clinical psychologist Tara Mitchell, Ph. D. to bring comforting presents to patients in therapy.
Co-chief for Pediatric Behavioral Outcomes, Carilion Clinic, Dr. Tara Mitchell said, “I can tell you, I know how he’s feeling. He’s excited. So I say, ‘Do you want to go to work’, and he’s excited. We put on his vest in the car, and he jumps out of the car, and we walk in, and as soon as he comes in the team space, he wants to see who’s there. You can tell he’s a little disappointed if nobody’s in the Team space. And if other care providers are there, he’s waiting eagerly to be released, because he wants to go say ‘hi’ and ‘good morning’.”
St. Francis Dogs Executive Director Cabell Youell said, “He is a member of the staff here. He’s part of the team, and he comes to work every day. So he works not only with the children but with the other staff members here. And he is apparently a big hit among the staff here as well.”
Wali, however, is not a therapy dog, and not a service dog, but can work with the doctors and sit in doctors’ appointments with patients.
“So far I’ve just seen… It’s almost like this… I don’t want to say immediate trust, but it’s this really quick participation in treatment because he really calms the room where kids might be anxious to come to treatment, even teenagers that might be anxious to come. It just kind of, he just kind of de-escalates the situation. So, I’ve seen really positive progress in terms of increasing that motivation and that participation in treatment.”