While there seemed to be no more hopes for this little boy, a service dog performed a real little miracle and brought smiles back to an entire family.
In intensive care because of a brain tumor, little Oscar Haskell seemed to sink little by little. Doctors then warned her parents that the farewell was near.
A therapy dog in intensive care
The doctors then made a more than surprising proposal to the mother of little Oscar: bring in a therapy dog. First surprised that it was possible in intensive care, the mother finally accepted and that’s how a Golden Retriever named Leo entered the scene.
After having taken many precautions so that the doggie does not disconnect any wire, his mistress placed him near the bed of little Oscar and the doggie put his paw on his little hand.
A true miracle worker
The instant the dog placed its paw on the child’s hand, his heart rate returned to normal. A real little miracle. During the whole process, Oscar’s mom kept talking to him so he knew he wasn’t alone. She even promised him a dog if he managed to get out of it.
It was October 2016 at Southampton Children’s Hospital and since then Oscar has been getting better and better. During the rest of his treatment, Oscar was always assisted by Leo.
A special unit
Leo is one of six therapy dogs at Southampton Children’s Hospital who have helped 10,000 children. The SCH therapy dog team, under the leadership of Lyndsey and and Leo, provide intervention in pediatric intensive care, oncology, cardiology, orthopedics, and anywhere else they are needed in the hospital.
