Strays to the Rescue
In 2001, Louis, then called Loopy, was languishing in a back hospital ward at the New York City Center for Animal Care and Control (CACC). The puppy had various medical problems and was a prime candidate for euthanasia. In those days, less than 1% of dogs in similar circumstances at the CACC survived, but it was Louis' lucky day ... Louis is a gentle giant, a wonderful, compassionate therapy dog. He works at St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center in Manhattan, the hospital that pioneered the first therapy-dog program in New York City ... Some of Louis' greatest successes have been with neurology and oncology patients. Despite his size, he has always specialized in bed visits. For six weeks, he visited a patient with ovarian cancer who missed her own large dog very much. Louis lay on a clean sheet on the bed; together they enjoyed cuddle sessions of an hour or more, enabling her to delay her pain medication." — Frances Pilot, freelance medical writer
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