SANTEE, Calif. — Rady Children’s Hospital is ranked one of the top 10 children’s hospitals in the country which provides top-notch care to more than 300,000 young patients each year.
Unlike other children’s hospitals, Rady Children’s does not have a Resident Canine Therapy Program, a program that would provide for a child-care specialist working alongside professionally trained dogs to help lower blood pressure, anxiety and stress for its pediatric patients.
And it can happen with our help.
Landon Cravo was eight years old during his first extended visit to Rady Children’s hospital.
“November 17, 2020, Landon was rushed to the Emergency Department at Rady’s. He was having shortness of breath and he had lost a lot of weight really fast,” said Anne Cravo, Landon’s mother.
Doctors found a large mass in his chest.
“He had a collapsed lung, compression in his heart and pushed down on kidneys,” said Cravo.
After being poked and prodded, with scans, and tests, Landon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
“It was devastating. Nothing can prepare you for that,” said Cravo.
This was during COVID and visitors were limited at the hospital. “He would cry he missed his dogs,” said Cravo.
Landon has a French bulldog named Mango and a lab mix named Maui. When he was able to be home, he leaned on his pups during his chemo treatments.
But when Landon didn’t have his pups at his bedside at Rady Children’s Hospital, he wished he had a canine companion during in-patient treatments that he says would have helped calm his fears.
“Dogs are special, they can sense if you’re sad or mad,” said Landon Cravo.
Rady Children’s Hospital is ranked one of the top 10 children’s hospitals in America but what they don’t have that most children’s hospitals do, is a professional canine therapy program.
You can be a part of that joy to help kids be kids even in the hospital.
CBS 8 is a proud partner with Rady Children’s Hospital to raise money for three full-time professional canines.
“Programs like this are 100% funded by philanthropy and donations are needed to be able to continue to build these programs and fund them so that our kids have the very best treatment every time they come through our doors here at Rady Children’s Hospital,” said Alex Loker, Vice President of Philanthropy, Rady Children’s Hospital.
The dogs will be like “dogtors” and will be paired full-time with a handler who is a clinically trained and certified child life specialist.
“It’s definitely going to reduce anxiety, fear, and normalize the hospital a little bit,” said Taylor Keitley, Rady Children’s Hospital Child Life Supervisor.
The professional canines will be specially trained for a hospital setting and integrated into a child’s medical plan to help break barriers between a doctor and patient.
“For me when I’m sad sometimes my dogs will come to me and lick me and try to play with me so that is really nice to have,” said Landon.
Sometimes a doggy hug is the best medicine a doctor can prescribe.
“It feels like you’re hugging like baby bear,” said Landon.
Working Fur Kids is an effort to help raise funds in collaboration with the public, to start a Resident Canine Therapy Program at Rady Children’s here in San Diego. Please consider making a monetary donation to kickstart this essential program that will help ease the pain and suffering of children who are patients at Rady Children’s Hospital.
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