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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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