The first four-legged friends to visit patients in Forth Valley Royal Hospital padded into Wards 4 and 5 in the Mental Health Unit to be met with smiles and affection.
Jamie the whippet and Shadow the lurcher were part of the Therapet scheme designed to use specially-trained animals to promote health, hope and healing. With a dog policy already in place strict guidelines had to be followed, involving a number of risk assessments. Relatives and carers were all asked whether loved ones had any allergies or phobias and notices had to be placed on doors advising staff with allergies that dogs would be in the wards that day.
