For young patients, therapy dogs are an Rx for the hospital jitters

THE BRONX -- Local children's hospitals are turning to special employees to help make patients' experiences a little less scary.

Therapy dogs roam around hospitals providing comfort and support to patients, their families and staff during some of the toughest times of their lives.

Katy Dessick is a senior child life specialist at Children's Hospital at Montefiore and works with their therapy dog, Polly.

She considers Polly the best tool at the facility. She says Polly helps "normalize the environment. You know, this is an odd environment for families."

Dessick says creating a more comfortable environment can lead to "opportunities for activities they might do at school or things they might do at home and bring that to the hospital setting."

Dessick says the key is creating positive experiences somewhere where negative experiences can become overwhelming and that, "Polly is a really calming presence for both the patients and their anxious parents."

The pooch often stops by for pets or to play doctor with young patients.

The hard work pays off for Dessick "when we walk into a room, to hear from the staff that this patient hasn't smiled in weeks, or we haven't been able to get them to do anything they've enjoyed, and then they meet Polly and they get excited. I think that is the magic of what she brings to the table."