Need for therapy dogs ‘growing exponentially’ with death bed patients asking to be with them | UK News [Video]

The request for therapy dogs has grown ‘exponentially’ with even dying patients requesting to see them in their final hours.

Therapy Dogs Nationwide has received 487 requests since the start of January to visit stressed out university students, dementia patients and childhood cancer wards.

They are even asked to visit people who are ‘rallying’ just before their death.

Trustee Leisl de Lafontaine told Metro at Crufts this year: ‘I once made a 160-mile trip to see a terminally ill patient who asked to see my dog Fido.

‘It must remind them of dogs they would have once had in their life. I walked into the room with Fido, and the patient said, “There he is, Jasper has come to see me”.

‘By the time I drove back home I received a text saying she had passed away.’

Although they are often asked to visit students and attend corporate events, the dogs make most of a difference in …