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Laxague and Moon are the first members of

Mt. Shasta’s team and are hoping others will

want to join.

A doggie treat

During their most recent visit, a nurse

asked Laxague if she and Moon could visit

a patient in the intensive care unit who’d

been talking about how much she missed

her own dogs.

The pair were happy to oblige.

“The woman was obviously very ill, but she

was so glad to see a dog,” Laxague says. It

was a rewarding experience for everyone—

including the charming pound hound.

Sit. Stay.Visit.

Humankindness

+ puppy love

= a great team

Unleash

your

talents! To

learn about

volunteering

with the

pet therapy

program, call

530.926.6111.

Ask for the

auxiliary.

Debbie Laxague, RN, and her dog, Moon.

PET THERAPY

Shedding some light on Moon

Moon agreed to answer a few ques-

tions for

Be Well

. Interestingly, this

big dog of unknown heritage speaks

with a hint of a British accent.

Q.

What is your go-to ice breaker

with patients?

A.

I’ve learned that if I do this

little twirl with my head and tilt it

sideways, it warms up even the most

resistant person.

Q.

What do you like best about visit-

ing with patients?

A.

My favorite thing is when they

lean their heads down so that I can

snuggle their ears.

Q.

If Hollywood made a movie about

your life, who should play you?

A.

Lassie…unless Hugh Grant

played a dog at one time.

When

Debbie Laxague, RN, adopted a dog

from a Redding animal shelter several years

ago, she thought she was picking out a pet.

But she was also picking out a volunteer gig.

Laxague and her dog, Moon, are the first

pet therapy team at Mercy Medical Center

Mt. Shasta. They visit patients in the hospital

and at local assisted living centers.

Laxague provides the conversation. Moon

provides the unconditional love.

The dog did it

So what prompted a retired obstetrics nurse

to join the world of pet therapy?

“It was the dog,” she says. “Moon is such a

people dog. He has a way of charming them.

And people just really respond to him.”

Mercy Medical Center Redding already

had a successful pet therapy program. So

Laxague began making the case for a similar

program at Mt. Shasta. In the meantime, she

and Moon were certified by Pet Partners, a

national animal therapy group.

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