Acer is a big grey teddy bear of a dog, who’s calm and reassuring presence puts everyone who meets him at ease, as he sidles up to the side of patients' beds, where he will stand up on his hind legs to say hello and request some pats.
‘He knows now that he has to put his front paws up on the bed so that children can reach him’ Sharon said speaking about their visits. ‘He’s really eager and keen to come into the ward. If I’m early, and waiting outside, he’s barking, like come on, I want to get started!’.
Acer’s work has had a profound impact on Rainbow Ward over the years, and not just the smiles he brings to everyone’s faces. ‘There was this little girl, she’d been in for a few weeks, and she hadn’t spoken to anybody, wouldn't speak, wouldn't interact with people. We turned up and the play worker went in and said to her “do you want to meet Acer the therapy dog? He's lovely and fluffy.” And she just kind of kept looking away.
So, we went in and I took him around to the side of her bed. She was sort of ignoring him to start with, and he did as usual, automatically puts his paws up. She was eating melon out of one of those plastic pots, so I was just saying things like, “be careful with your melon because he likes fruit”. I was just rabbiting on you know, saying things like “he loves carrot, and he loves apple and a bit of broccoli, do you like that?” just chattering away to her. And then she got a piece of melon out and she gave it to him, and he gobbled it down and she laughed and then she started talking to him. Everyone was just so happy, and after that she started interacting with the staff and the play workers, it was a bit of a breakthrough.’
‘Years ago I worked for an Almshouse charity’ Sharon said reflecting on how she got involved with pet therapy. ’The elderly residents weren't allowed pets in their flats, but the activities coordinator had a therapy dog come in, a little dachshund, and the residents, they just used to love it.
Back then I was working full time, and I just thought, when I'm retired or when I've got a bit more time, and if we have a suitable dog, that’s something I'd quite like to do.’
And luckily enough for Sharon, she got a dog perfectly suited to it. ‘Acer is particularly placid for a border collie. My other dog is a border collie, and she’s off the wall, she doesn’t have an off button.
We took him to be assessed to become a therapy dog once he was about 18 months old, once he’d calmed down a little bit, lost a bit of the puppy energy. They take the dogs through a whole bunch of tests, like grooming them, and pulling on their ears and tails, stroking them all over, to see how they react and make sure they’ll be ok with kids of all ages, and test them with all sorts of sounds, because hospitals can often be loud and have a lot of noises.’
As well as their visits to Rainbow Ward, Acer and Sharon also go to Marie Curie Hospice in Penarth, to spend time with the patients. ‘It's a privilege that people who are so ill want to spend time with your dog. It can be really hard to see people and children like that, but it’s so much harder for them to be going through it. And I just think, if we weren't here, it would be even harder, wouldn't it? I think that it has such a positive impact. It just takes their minds off it for a bit.’
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Thanks to Sharon and Acer for taking the time to share their story, and for the wonderful service they provide to the children and families on the Rainbow Ward. Follow Latch on social media (links) for updates on Acer's future visits.
