CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — After more than a year on hiatus because of COVID-19, the pet therapy program is back at a Southwest Side hospital.
Ranger is half lab, half pitbull. Zilly is a yellow lab. Together, they are the Cook County Sheriff’s team that meets and greets patients at St. Anthony Hospital.
Ranger’s human partner is Tarry Williams, chief of strategic operations at the sheriff’s office. He has a lot of stories about what the dogs have been able to do in the past.
For instance, with a young woman who was having a mental health issue.
“Ranger just engaged immediately with her — he sensed it,” Williams said.
“And the next 15 minutes, she was crying and saying how happy she was and she hadn’t felt that way in a long time. So, she’s crying. Now, I’m starting to cry.”
Before, the dogs would go to patients’ rooms. Now, the patients go to where the dogs are: in the hospital’s pet therapy room.
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