Therapy Dogs Making the Rounds

"Pets are embedded in the soul of our humanity," says Dr. Edward Creagan, an oncologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., as he describes the special fondness and respect he has for a certain other member of the clinic's staff.
That would be Dr. Jack, a 10-year-old miniature pinscher who sees about eight to 10 patients a day — sometimes he goes for a walk with them, sometimes he gives them five and sometimes he just curls up next to them so they can catch some z's together.
Dr. Jack is a therapy dog, just one class in the corps of canine healthcare "professionals" known as assistance dogs. And, like service dogs (which assist individuals with disabilities), therapy dogs are put to work more and more these days.