Meet the newest member of our Wellbeing team, Otis!

Nine-year old Otis is our new therapy dog. He has the perfect calm, loving nature to connect with our patients. He's well-behaved, excellent with commands and loves to be around people.
 
Otis' human, Deb, wanted to get involved with the Hospice after moving to Pontefract and thought Otis would be the perfect addition to our team.
 
On Tuesday Otis had his very first session with some of our patients who are staying on Incare. Patiently waiting by the door in our garden room, Otis greeted all the visitors with a waggle of his tail.
 
One of our patients Rita was the first to say hello and while Otis enjoyed a well-deserved fuss, she told us how dogs had always been part of her life “I worked with the RSPCA for 10 years in Greece. Over the years I looked after around 20 goats, 20 donkeys, 250 cats and 250 dogs. I’ve always been a dog person, if I could, I’d have a Springer but I’m not as active as I’d need to be.”
 
Deb, Otis’ human knew his calm presence would be welcomed by the patients she told us “He’s always had a sense and knows when someone just needs comfort. It started when he was just a puppy, he could be as bouncy and as wild as you’d expect from a young dog but as soon as he saw my mum (who was ill at the time) he would just lay next to her so she could stroke his ears.”
 
We’re really looking forward to welcoming Otis and Deb back to the ward, they will be visiting us every Tuesday afternoon.