Holiday Visitors – Therapy dogs Buffy, a golden retriever, and Wrigley, a Burmese mountain dog, visited with Santa Claus and patients at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Therapy dogs Buffy, a golden retriever, and Wrigley, a Burmese mountain dog, visited with Santa Claus and patients at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles on Giving Tuesday. The dogs are part of the Amerman Family Foundation Dog Therapy Program that recruits, trains and supports a roster of roughly 100 therapy dog teams visiting a wide variety of clinical settings including all three intensive care units, as well as several outpatient clinics. Dog therapy has been part of CHLA’s culture since  2001. What began as three dogs visiting one 30-bed unit has expanded to better meet the needs of all patients.  Dog teams can now visit from early morning to night, seven days a week, all year round.  Photo by Dianne Lahti