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On Faith Kathy Summers |
Therapy dogs are able
to bring happiness
to seriously ill childrenIt is difficult to write about service to God, because when we give service, we receive so many blessings that it is impossible to tell the giver from the receiver. Some people say giving and receiving are on a circle and impossible to separate from one another. It is interesting that service is always suggested for good physical and mental health. Service is an eternal law as real and strong as gravity.
I have served as a volunteer clown for 15 years in hospitals working with children, many of whom have cancer. I now take our two therapy dogs to visit the children, and if the dogs could drive, I would not need to be there. I am just their chauffeur, and they provide the love and magic. I love to watch what they do with each patient. They always know just what is needed and do things I could never ask them to do.
Several years ago we visited a young girl dying of AIDS. Her last three wishes were to have a dog come to her hospital room, to be able to go to the hospital playroom and to go on a trip.
The last time we saw her was the day before she died. She was in a semicoma. I brought our golden retriever Sasha to see her. There was not much room on the bed for Sasha to lie down as the girl was lying in the middle of the bed.
We put Sasha on the bed next to the girl. She crawled up and laid her head on the pillow beside the girl and snuggled next to her. Sasha's four legs were hanging off the side of the bed. The physical therapist took the girl's arm and stroked the dog over and over again and told the girl that Sasha was there beside her. Sasha went to sleep and stayed in that very awkward position for about a half an hour. The therapist said, "This dog knows this girl is dying."
I truly believe she did. Sasha was trying to give every bit of love she possibly could. The room was filled with the love of God, and no one wanted to leave.
It has been our privilege through the years to know so many dear children, their families and the devoted hospital staff. It has been my privilege to work with my beloved dogs as they share their wisdom and love with others.
I don't come as a religious person, and we don't talk about God. One thing I tell the children is that I say a prayer each day that we will find one person who would love a dog that day. I tell them, "You are the answer to that prayer."
Kathy Summers, a former schoolteacher and the mother of nine children, has been a clown for hospitalized children for 15 years. She is a member of the Kailua First Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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