Just wanted to share Annie's recent accomplishment

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Many of you who know Annie and I know that we have a therapy dog named Hollywood. She found him after her Jack Russell was run over by the meter reader on our hobby farm several years ago. This happened before I moved down to Illinois and since she lived alone at the time she decided this time to find herself a REALLY big dog. What she found was an adorable 26 lb 8 week old English Mastiff who now weighs a tad bit over 200 lbs. She has spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to train him for use as a therapy dog (and our accounts receivable clerk) and now takes him all over Springfield, IL and surrounding area to visit patients. He has made such a huge impact that he is now called upon many times a year to perform special visits such as a grief camp for children who have suffered a family loss, a home for the blind but most of his time is spent at the local hospital's hospice and physc wards working with the terminally ill or very troubled patients. Fortunately Drew (pSYCo) is not one of our patients. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/wink.gif[/img]

Occasionally and as time allows I will go on visits with her so I can see first hand the impact he and other therapy animals make with patients. Recently we visited the phsyc ward to witness this first hand. On one of these visits we were told that one of the patients has had virtually no contact with other people in three months nor has he spoken a word in that time and has kept isolated in his room. They brought him into our meeting room and of course would not even make eye contact. Within 10 minutes he was on the floor laying and hugging on the dog and actually talking to Hollywood. Everyone in the room teared up and the nurses and doctors could not believe what was happening. Since then he has made great strides and we have even visited him at his home where he is now back at. That one patient made everything worth the effort for the last 6 years.

Hollywood has gotten a lot of attention and when walking into the main lobby at the hospital the doctors and nurses start texting people to come down that he had arrived. Many even plan their days or lunches around our visits bringing Hollywood little snacks. We even get several doctors, nurses and even the hospital CEO that come to visit him in the lobby every time he comes. One day an ER surgeon came down and when I asked her why she came she said, &quot;people think our patients are the only ones that need some help. We occasionally need it too.&quot; That really hit home with me.

I do not normally brag but I am so proud of what Annie and Hollywood have done I just felt like sharing it. Yesterday we were surprised by a visit from the local WISC News 20 TV station who interviewed Annie and watched Hollywood work for about an hour. It aired later that night. Here is that clip.

http://www.wics.com/news/top-stories...id_12465.shtml