The Natural
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: Canadian Acts of Kindness
By Irene R. Bastian

Fun fact: Therapy dogs at hospices provide comfort not only to dying patients, but also to their families.

After responding to an advertisement for volunteers at the hospice, I sat chatting with the volunteer coordinator. The hospice had been open for about a year, a very welcome addition in our community, and now was looking for special personnel to visit and comfort residents in their waning days. I reached down and unfastened Roxy's leash as she kept her big brown eyes on the coordinator, as if she was taking it all in. "She's not exactly what I was looking for," the coordinator stated. "I was hoping for a lap-sized dog, but she certainly is gentle and talks to you with her eyes."

"No, she's not a lap dog; she's a Lab — a small one as she was the runt of the litter — but she thinks she should be a lap dog, too," I stated. "She also understands grief. She curled up beside her mother when she was dying, and she grieved for several months. So when someone is feeling down or not well, she senses it and tries to offer her empathy and comfort. She works hard at trying to please." (Keep reading)