For many people it’s hard to hold back a smile when you are greeted by a happy, friendly yellow lab looking for a pat on the head. Meet Hooper, one of the visiting therapy dogs at Silver Hill Hospital.

For well over a decade, we have offered a dog therapy program at Silver Hill for the very same reason: playing with dogs can help our patients feel better. But even more than that, with their unconditional love and complete acceptance, pet therapy dogs can help patients heal. It’s not an overstatement to say that there are real, tangible therapeutic benefits derived from our pet therapy program.