Therapy Chihuahua rolls on its rounds at hospital
Peggy Hayes’ eyes lit up as a little Chihuahua named Nubby was wheeled into her hospital room.
Hayes has been in Banner Baywood Medical Center’s John J. Rhodes Rehabilitation Center in Mesa since her foot was amputated in January.
It isn’t the first time a therapy dog visited her, but she could relate to Nubby in a way she couldn’t with the other dogs.
The 6-year-old Chihuahua was born without his two front legs and now gets around with the help of custom-made wheels he can rest his chest on.
Nubby was there to lift her spirits, but there was a sense they were comforting each other.
“Just hang in there, you’re doing great,” Hayes said, as she scratched Nubby’s neck.
Dawn Hayes, Peggy’s daughter, said her mother sometimes gets depressed in the hospital and visits from therapy dogs like Nubby make a big difference.
“It makes me happy because it was like she was giving up hope of ever getting better, and stuff like this, I see a light in her eyes again,” Dawn Hayes said.
“He is different than your average dog. He brings so much to our patients who are facing a challenging time in their lives, and he’s an inspiration for so many.” Jenna Davis Senior manager, volunteer resources, Banner Baywood
Bringing smiles to patients
Smiles lit up the hospital lobby Friday morning as Nubby wheeled his way through the front doors.
A crowd began to gather around Nubby at one point, as the little Chihuahua stopped to pose for cameras.
“He is different than your average dog. He brings so much to our patients who are facing a challenging time in their lives, and he’s an inspiration for so many,” said Jenna Davis, senior manager of volunteer resources.
Davis oversees the therapy dog program at Banner Baywood, which currently has 14 certified therapy dogs. Nubby is the only one with a disability, and he is only the third disabled dog in the program’s history at Banner Baywood.
When Nubby’s not lifting spirits at the medical center, he spends his time skateboarding, surfing and modeling the newest doggy fashions, his handler, Deidre Grafel, said.
“He’s super active despite his challenge,” she said.
Grafel adopted Nubby in April 2017 from Dogwood Animal Rescue Project in Santa Rosa, Calif., after the Chihuahua had been abandoned twice previously.
Grafel said she knew Nubby had what it took to be a therapy dog the moment she met him.
“It would sort of be a sin for him to not be out there spreading love,” she said.
Before going to work at Banner Baywood, Nubby had to go through a program provided by Alliance of Therapy Dogs, a volunteer organization headquartered in Wyoming that tests and observes dogs for therapy certification.
After testing a dog’s demeanor, an Alliance observer accompanies the dog and handler on three patient visits in a medical setting before granting final certification.
‘You can make a difference in someone’s life’
Grafel recalled one patient visit in particular that stood out. It was during Nubby’s second observation with Alliance, and the two were visiting a female stroke patient who had been unresponsive.
A family member of the patient unstrapped her hand and placed it on Nubby’s head, and her hand began to move.
“They were sort of encouraging her to speak and to open her eyes...and her eyes sort of fluttered, and then she turned her head and looked at him and said, ‘hello Nubby,’” Grafel said.
“It was one of those moments that reiterated we were in the right place, when you can make a difference in someone’s life like that,” she said.