Everyone stops to stare when a turkey waddles down the hall in UF Health Jacksonville’s Clinical Center.
His feathered backside wiggles from side to side as he makes his way into a patient’s room for a visit.
But this isn’t really a turkey. It’s a dog who is so sweet-natured, he doesn’t even mind wearing his silly costume. Choo Choo the pug is on a mission to bring smiles to everyone’s faces, and he’ll do whatever it takes.
“Choo,” as his friends call him, is a member of the hospital’s pet visitation program, one of a number of volunteer efforts to spread a little cheer.
“It’s just the neatest thing, not only for the patients, but for the staff,” said Tracy Torres, director of Volunteer Services. “They can’t go two steps without someone stopping them.”
Several dogs have been a part of the program in the eight years since it began – including a husky and a poodle – and now a Chihuahua is undergoing the required obedience training. They are not service dogs, but they have to have the right disposition, said volunteer services coordinator Tina Wrye. A good candidate for pet visitation is a friendly, gentle dog that keeps its cool even when there’s something unexpected, such as the noise of a siren or a stretcher rushing by in the hallway.
Because they are dogs, they can approach patients in a way humans can’t. There are no funny looks, no questions about conditions or injuries. Just a wagging tail and a wet tongue.
“He’s really empathetic. He just seems to know what to do,” said Kathy Duffner, Choo’s owner. “When he walks up to a wheelchair, he knows where to sit so the person can reach to pet him.”
Choo, who’s 11, has been visiting patients and staff every week for six years. Sometimes he arrives for his Wednesday morning visits in the buff, but he’s also been known to make his rounds wearing scrubs, a white doctor coat, a Santa suit, a pumpkin costume, even an Uncle Sam ensemble.
This fall, a second dog began visiting pediatric units on Tuesday nights with her owner Brynn Dion. The 5-year-old yellow lab, named Lyric, always wears her standard uniform: a pink vest.
During a recent visit, children rushed to throw their arms around the large dog in the Pediatric Emergency Center waiting room. She laid down on the floor, making it easier for little hands to reach her.
“She’s very obedient, and she’s just there for them to love on,” Dion said.
In the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Dion laid a blanket on a boy’s bed so the 90-lb. dog could put her paws on it and get closer to the patient. The boy, who was missing his own dog at home, asked Lyric to shake. She was happy to oblige.
“Can you speak?” he asked.
Lyric answered with a hearty “woof.”
In another room, Lyric was the perfect distraction for a little boy who had just received his first IV. She wagged her tail and laid her head next to the boy, encouraging him to at last look away from the tubing.
“This is something I always wanted to do,” Dion said of volunteering with Lyric. “Kids see us and just light up. I’m so glad that we’re able to provide that.”
Choo’s owner, Duffner, said one of her favorite visits came when the family of a 3-year-old girl requested to have the pug come to the child’s room. Pet visitation dogs have specific areas where they make their “rounds,” but patients and staff can also specifically request a visit anywhere.
The 3-year-old patient had shown little response to anything for days. When Choo arrived for his visit, though, the girl sat up and began to pet him, talking with him and snuggling him. The girl’s family began to cry, so relieved to at last see her acting like herself.
Choo brightens the day for adults, too, including in the Transitional Care Unit (TCU). During a visit on the day before Thanksgiving, he didn’t let his turkey suit stop him from breaking into a near-run on his way to his favorite spot on campus: TCU admissions coordinator Julie Heaton’s office.
A dog lover, Heaton keeps a stash of treats on hand for Choo. She tossed him a bacon snack, and he devoured it, wagging his little tail along with the feathered backside of his costume.
Then it was back to visiting: Choo headed to a physical therapy room, where at least a dozen patients were working with therapists.
“He thinks he belongs here. It’s like a second home,” Duffner said as Choo settled in, leaning on a patient’s wheelchair so she could pet him.
“I don’t know what’s cuter: the dog, or the outfit,” the patient said as several other patients snapped photos of the pug.
In another part of the hospital, two sisters rushed out of their rooms in their socked feet to pet Choo. While the girls laughed and snuggled with the dog, their mother mouthed a “thank you” to Duffner.
Choo gets a lot of thank yous. In fact, he’s received three service keys, which are awards patients nominate staff and volunteers for.
Duffner said she’s enjoyed visiting the hospital with Choo over the years.
“It’s a fun thing that we both look forward to. I don’t consider it work at all,” she said.
You can learn more about volunteering opportunities at UF Health Jacksonville at ufhealthjax.org/volunteer/working-with-patients.aspx.