Rotties were banned.
into her home. That same week, she learned she had been accepted to medical school. A Pup’s Purpose Benzel took the puppy on her visits to her grandfather, who was confined to a hospital for more than a month. She was impressed by how much therapy dogs helped him, even if their visit was just five minutes. Her grandfather loved Loki right away. He called her his little baked potato. The experience convinced Benzel to train her puppy for therapy work. Benzel’s next 18 months were devastating. She lost people she loved—her grandfather, brother, and a close friend. Loki kept her steady through those sad, stressful days. “She really was a big reason, probably, honestly, one of the only reasons that I ended up staying in medical school,” she says.
possible each week. Loki “was pretty incredible from day one,” Benzel recalls. A natural at comforting, she’s been known to crawl up onto a bed for a cuddle. The team sailed through training and was soon lifting spirits in the hospital. Since then, they have earned a slew of accolades, including the 2020 AKC Paw of Courage and the AMC (Animal Medical Center) Top Dog. Benzel saw the power of her therapy dog on their first working Christmas. They were called into the room of a teenage girl who had suffered a brain injury in a car accident. She was deeply depressed, refusing to do physical therapy or even get out of bed. Then Loki padded into the room. When a nurse asked the patient if she wanted to hold the leash and take the dog for a walk, she gave an enthusiastic yes.
Just a few moments of Loki are all it takes to change minds. Custom-made uniforms go a long way to making this big black dog appear not just approachable but comical. “The hospital was always happy to provide scrubs for her,” Benzel says. It’s hard to be too alarmed when the dog is wearing a watermelon-print scrub cap, pink scrubs, glasses, and, sometimes, a rainbow tutu. She also has a UM volunteer badge. “People who are normally scared of dogs will start laughing,” Benzel says. The uniforms also serve a serious purpose, especially with children who have white-coat phobia (a fear of medical personnel) or are terrified of equipment, like an ultrasound. “We bring Loki in, and they do the ultrasound on her,” says Benzel. Seeing the procedure done on a cute dog eases their fears. “It shows them that it’s perfectly fine.”
Courtesy Caroline Benzel
As Loki and Benzel were leaving, the girl’s mother ran after them. “She just started hugging me and crying, saying her daughter hadn’t smiled since the accident.” After that day, the girl started to improve and was
No Joke Benzel had lived with big dogs,
including German Shepherd Dogs and Rottweilers, for most of her life. When she applied to medical school, she had recently lost a dog to cancer, and thought of getting a new Rottweiler. She loves the breed for its calm confidence and ability to learn and adapt to all kinds of circumstances. Their size is also a big attraction. “They’re so cuddly. It’s like having an enormous teddy bear,” she says. As she waited to learn whether she had gotten into the school of her choice, friends involved in animal rescue called her. They said they had picked up two homeless Rottweiler puppies, a male and female. As a joke, Benzel said that if they ever wanted to give one away, they should let her know. The very next day, she welcomed the female puppy
soon ready to go home.
Raising a Comforter Between classes and studying,
Article gathered from https://www. akc.org/expert-advice/family-dog/ on-call-one-rottweilers-mission-to-lift- human-spirits/
Benzel made sure her puppy got the training needed to reach her goal—a bombproof partner who could deal with sights, sounds, and movements in all kinds of environments. Service dog socialization checklists were a critical part of Loki’s education. Benzel found them online, printed them out, and tried to get through as many items as
Missouri Pet Breeders Association | Page 22
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