Canuck Place therapy dog Gaia (Beth Holbrook)
Canuck Place Children’s Hospice is welcoming a new and very adorable fluffy employee.
Gaia the therapy dog will be supporting kids with life-threatening illnesses at the hospice, working alongside Canuck Place nurse practitioner Camara Van Breemen and nurse Brenda Dewar.
Selected from dozens of candidates, Gaia’s loving and gentle demeanour, combined with her impeccable training, won Canuck Place staff over.
Canuck Place therapy dog Gaia (Beth Holbrook)
“Gaia was chosen from dozens of candidates for this type of work not only because she demonstrates the ability to seek out those that need her support, but perhaps more importantly, she can support them without taking on the stress herself. This is a rare trait in dogs, just as it is in the special humans that work at Canuck Place,” said Laura Watamanuk, executive director of Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS), who partnered with the project.