When Her Nephew Was Dying, All He Wanted Was His Dog. That Inspired Her To Do THIS Incredible Thing.

Having a serious illness, or knowing someone who has one, can be a very hard and stressful time. What better way to reduce stress than being around adorable little pets, especially your own?! The Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, is now allowing pets to visit loved ones while they’re sick, thanks to a foundation called Zachary’s Paws for Healing. Zachary Noble, whom the foundation is named after, was a patient at Juravinski Hospital, battling cancer. While there, he always begged to see his dogs. Unfortunately, he passed away, but his visits with dogs always helped him feel better.

His aunt, Donna Jenkins, is making his legacy live on with this new program. Hospital executives and their staff has approved of it, making it the first organization in Canada to provide hospitalized patients with visits from dogs and cats. Of course therapy dogs have been used in the past in hospitals all over the world; but what makes this program so special is that it’s the patients own pets! Not only does it help the patient, but it also helps the pets who are suffering with separation anxiety from their sick owners. Thus far, there has been 25 visits between patients there and their pets. Before the pets come, they are cleaned so that they don’t bring germs into the hospital. They have one hour weekly visits and her brought in on covered, wheeled carts, away from other patients. This is such a wonderful, heartwarming idea!!