Nurses from a Southampton Children’s Hospital have had an interview with Nursing Times. They have all talked about the benefits of having therapy dogs for patients and they also believe that it has an impact on them too. The dogs on the ward happen to brighten up the nurses on the ward and they also make it much easier for them to enjoy the rest of their day. They have also come out to say that they distract some of the younger patients, which makes their job way easier.

It has been reported on previously and studies have shown that therapy dogs are 100% recommended by staff and that most people believe that AAI should actually be implemented across the UK. This is a surprising statistic to say the least but it does go to show how much traction this is gaining. Of course, only time will tell if more and more people are going to be voicing their support of therapy dogs or not but right now, it looks to be making a huge difference to patient’s lives. This is especially the case when you look at patients who have been in hospital for a long period of time.

It’s important to know that therapy dogs are trained and that they know how to behave in a hospital too. Certain breeds are also chosen because of their temperament, and this goes a long way when it comes to those who are ill or unable to move very much. Gentle breeds such as the Labrador are favoured because they are loving and most of all, patient around children. Homecare and even private nursing staff are calling for more therapy dogs to be used in hospitals up and down the UK.