ARTICLES

Therapy dog is welcome ‘staff member’ at hospital

By Steve Neill
Of The Catholic Virginian

Patients and visitors at Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center in Hanover County are usually surprised to see a dog walking in the hallways and then in the arms of patients who might be lying on a gurney.

But doctors, nurses and volunteers at the hospital joyfully welcome the pet therapy dog known as “Mister McAuley” who comes to the facility once or twice a week with his owner, Sister Marie Kerns.

In fact, McAuley wears an ID badge with his photo on it, a requirement of all employees of the Bon Secours-affiliated hospital. His name is officially “Mister McAuley” since the system used to create the ID tags requires both a first and last name.

The dog, a Shih Tzu breed, is five years old and is considered a rescued dog because he was living in a pound after he had been abandoned. He most likely would have been put to sleep unless a new owner had adopted him.

Sister Marie, a member of the Sisters of Mercy who last year celebrated her golden jubilee in her religious community, adopted the dog through an online service known as “Find a Pet.” She filled out a request form and said she would be willing to travel a distance of up to 250 miles to claim a dog which met her specifications.

When “Find a Pet” notified her they had a dog called “Bandit” who was similar to one she requested, she drove to Kannapolis, NC., a distance of 285 miles one-way. She began her journey at the end of a work day and arrived close to midnight in the town where Bandit had been taken to a pound.

“He had definitely been abused,” Sister Marie said, adding that he was in a wired cage with his coat so matted that pound workers had to clip his hair down to the skin before she brought him to Richmond.

“I just picked him up when I saw him,” Sister Marie said. “I just knew he’d be a loveable little dog.

“When I rescued him, his name was ‘Bandit,’ but I told him that he was going to live in a convent and I named him ‘McAuley,’ after the first Sister of Mercy, Sister Catherine McAuley.”

McAuley has credentials for his position as a pet therapy dog. He has been through dog obedience school and is classified as a “Canine Good Citizen” after successfully going through additional training.

“I received a gift to take him to school for obedience because my friend thought it would be a good way to bond with him since he was a rescued dog,” Sister Marie told The Catholic Virginian.

“McAuley was such a success and was so loved by the other participants in the class.”

But the next hurdles to become a Canine Good Citizen were more difficult. There were about 15 dogs in the school.

Because of his friendly nature, McAuley was first unable to “stay” when Sister Marie walked away from him for a distance of 20 feet and then returned toward him. He handled the first part all right, but immediately began wagging his tail in response when his owner got closer to him. It was only when McAuley could resist that urge that he could “graduate.”

“The night of the graduation McAuley was perfect,” Sister Marie said. “The entire audience gave a loud round of applause for his successful completion of the course.”

Among the many patients who feel that McAuley helped them while they were patients is Dr. William Snoddy, a general surgeon who recently was hospitalized for a few days.

“The nurses asked me if I wanted anything and I said ‘yes,’” Dr. Snoddy said. “I was half joking, I’d like to see the therapy dog.”

A nurse called Sister Marie at her office, but McAuley was “not working” that day and had not accompanied her to the hospital.

But based on her knowledge that her pet therapy dog would cheer Dr. Snoddy, she went home at the end of the work day — a distance of 22 miles — and came back to the hospital with McAuley.

“It really cheered me up,” Dr. Snoddy said. “I’m a huge dog lover anyway.”

At home the physician has a 14-year-old dog “Murphy,” a mixed breed dog which he rescued from the SPCA when he was a puppy.

McAuley is certainly an attention-getter as Sister Marie walks him on a leash to make his visits to patients. His ID badge is hung from his blue Bon Sours coat he wears.

“As soon as I walk him down the corridor, everyone smiles and wants me to stop so they can see him,” Sister Marie said.

“I said to one of the nurses it’s wonderful that he’s such a comfort to the patients. She said ‘Don’t forget, he’s such a comfort to the nurses.’”

She recalled what one woman told her when she asked Sister Marie to take McAuley to see her father who was a cancer patient.

“She told me ‘The visit from this dog will do more good for my father than all the doctors,’” Sister Marie said.

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