There are about fourteen of us in the Otago SPCA's Dog Squad. With our dogs we visit patients in Dunedin Hospital Children's Ward, patients in the Hospice, and we also have a group that visits residents in Rest Homes throughout Dunedin. These are all amazingly bright and positive places, staffed by wonderful people who give their best and more to make life better for those in their care. They have welcomed the Dog Squad and encouraged our visits from the start.

Almost all the people we meet on our visits react very positively. Their faces light up when a dog comes specially to visit them - whether the doggy visitor is the big gentle rottweiler cross, Moose, or one of the cuddly spoodles like Millie, or one of the chihuahuas with "attitude", like Madonna. There are only a few patients and residents who are too young or sick to meet us, or they may be allergic to dogs, and only once in a blue moon do we encounter anyone who doesn't really want close contact with one of our dogs.

The dogs have been wonderful ambassadors for the SPCA. They are rigorously selected for their good temperament. They are 100% reliable with competent owner-handlers. They are clean and healthy, and don't represent any more of a disease risk that any human visitor, in fact probably less! And the big plus is that they are a conversation piece - they give everyone and anyone something to talk about.

The dogs love the visits. Marjorie's dog, Moose, is a big black and tan mixed breed, very gentle and placid. He has been visiting the Children's Ward for several years now. When his special black and white collar is produced to signal a trip to the Hospital, he 'grins' and prances with delight - he loves attention and he gets lots of it in the Ward.!

The visits are rewarding for the handlers too. The least the dogs do is distract those we visit from their problems for a few moments, and the most they do is quite amazing. One little girl who was in hospital because she'd been bitten by a dog the day before soon got over her reluctance to interact with Michael's spoodle Harley, and after a few minutes she was leading her round the ward to meet the other children. On one of Marjorie's visits to a Rest Home with he dog, Lady, she was sitting between two ladies, talking to Maureen on her left, when she realised that Lady was resting her head on the lap of Mary on her right. Mary, who hardly ever moved and who hadn't spoken for years, was slowly stroking Lady with a shaky hand, murmering 'Good dog, good dog' … and smiling. These are among the special moments that make the work we do so very worthwhile.

We are so grateful to the staff of the Hospital, the Hospice and the Rest Homes for encouraging our visits and for making us so welcome … and of course we are so grateful to the people we meet. They have shown us what resilience and bravery there is in the human spirit, and they have enriched our lives.

How does it work?

At present, a handler and dog team visits the Children's Hospital each week, and a handler and dog team visits the Hospice once a week too. This is organized on a roster system so each handler-dog team has a visit just once a month or so. There are fewer handler and dog teams doing the Rest Home visiting and we could do with more here. We organize these visits by allocating a Rest Home to a handler and dog team so that visits can be arranged at times to suit the Dog Squad visitors and the Home. Since Rest Home residents are usually there for a long time we find that it best for the same handler-dog team to visit regularly so that they can make friends and provide continuity.

If you, as a member of the Otago SPCA, have a special friendly quiet dog and if you have a place in your heart for people who need support, you might like to join us? We particularly need people to join the Rest Home group. Give us a call. Our recruitment person is Val Veitch, 489 1626.