Meet the four-legged friend cheering up chemo patients
Every Tuesday, Sandy the groodle puts on her work 'uniform' for a very special job.
"The minute I put on her Delta bandanna at home her tail starts wagging – she knows where she's going," her owner, retired police officer Erich Fiala, tells 9Honey Pets.
Sandy is a Delta Society Therapy dog funded by the Royal Hospital for Women Foundation to cheer up patients undergoing chemotherapy and keep them company during their ordeal.
Once a week, she makes her rounds visiting the patients and putting smiles on everyone's faces.
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Retired police officer Erich Fiala and Sandy the groodle are a welcome site at the hospital. Supplied
"She walks into the room and I see their faces change from looking glum to a huge smile," Fiala tells us.
"She sits beside them in their chemotherapy chair or bedside and lets them pat her or shake her paw. Often, she'll just sit there by their side keeping them company.
"She takes their mind off what they're going through."
Sandy first started with Delta Therapy Dogs more than five years ago. She mainly visits those on the chemo ward, and sometimes sees the same faces, making the reunions all the more special.
Sandy the groodle is a Delta Therapy Dog. Supplied
Helen Picker was one lucky patient to receive a visit from Sandy, while she recovered in hospital following surgery as part of her cancer treatment.
The 78-year-old hails from Boorowa near Young in the south-west of NSW so she was a long way from home and relished the company of a friendly, albeit furry, face.
"I just thought she was absolutely beautiful," Helen Picker tells 9Honey Pets.
"She sort of came up to me and put her paws up on the side of my bed and just looked straight into my eyes and she just made me feel so relaxed."
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Helen Picker meeting Sandy the Groodle at the Royal Hospital for Women Supplied
The 78-year-old was recovering in hospital after surgery. Supplied
"Watching her visit others I could see the difference that it makes to people - I've been telling people all about it since."
"She brings a lot of joy."
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Owner Erich Fiala says the idea to join Delta Dogs actually occurred at the pub.
"I live at Randwick near the hospital and I happened to be at the pub one day and met a family who had a boy in a wheelchair," he tells us.
"They said the only time he's happy in hospital is when the dog comes to visit – a Delta Therapy Dog. I went and took both my dogs for assessment and we haven't looked back."
She puts a smile on people's faces in the gynaecology oncology ward and chemotherapy room. Supplied
Elise Jennings, General Manager of The Royal Hospital for Women Foundation, tells 9Honey Pets the therapy dogs play a special and important part in brightening the day and spirits of women in the gynaecology oncology ward and chemotherapy room.
"We can see the difference it makes to patients and families, and we're glad The Royal Hospital for Women Foundation can provide ongoing funding and make this program possible. Seeing the smiles the therapy dogs bring to patients and staff tell the story," Jennings says.
Of course, not every dog can be a therapy dog. But Sandy was the perfect fit.
"Dogs have to have the right temperament to be a Delta Therapy Dog. They need to be confident and calm" he says.
"They need to be comfortable around people and crowds and be okay with strangers putting their hands on them and different smells which are found in a hospital."