All of the events throughout the year will involve not only patients and their families, but also former patients, employees, businesses and the local community. Four times a week, teams of dogs and volunteers from Love on 4 Paws visit the Los Angeles Hospital. They visit patients in the lobby, the outpatient clinic, the radiology waiting area and in their rooms. The volunteers and their dogs also provide services in the physical therapy area on an as-needed basis. Whenever people in the hospital see the therapy dogs, a crowd of smiling patients gather around them.
Patients walk and brush the dogs.
The dogs also play catch and do tricks. The program recognizes that every child who sustains a significant burn endures a road to recovery that involves multiple treatments, interventions, and physical and emotional milestones. These steps are represented by colored beads that are added to the patients' necklaces each time they undergo treatments and procedures. By building a bead necklace, the program acknowledges the length, complexity and uniqueness of each child's experience. The necklace serves as a badge of courage to honor the burn patients' journey.