Pet Therapy

The Pet Volunteer Program at Littleton Adventist Hospital has brought cheer to many patients over the past nine years. This highly successful program allows patients to request pet visitation from one of our certified volunteer teams in an effort to reduce stress and anxiety during their stay at the hospital. Pet Volunteer teams spread good spirits to everyone they meet along their way and are quite popular with hospital staff as well.

Littleton Adventist Hospital understands the importance of treating the whole person. Pet therapy is one way we lift spirits and make our hospital welcoming. Being in a hospital, away from the comforts of home, can lead to loneliness and distress. Pet Volunteers bring companionship and comfort to a patient’s hospital stay. Our volunteers contribute the time, heart and dedication to this program and put smiles to countless faces.

Pet Volunteer Criteria

• Dogs must be at least 3-years-old.
• Volunteer commitment of at least two visits per month – about 1 hour in duration.
• Veterinarian approval with full physical, fecal exam, and current vaccinations -with yearly renewal.
• Temperament approval test at the hospital, updated every 6 to 12 months (compliments of Deer Creek Animal Hospital).
• Two initial training sessions with handler.

Pet Volunteer Handler Criteria
(Handler Cciteria is provided free-of-charge by Littleton Adventist Hospital)

• Handlers must be at least 21-years-old.
• TB test.
• Background check.
• Hospital orientation.

*Due to the popularity of this program, there is often a lengthy waitlist to enroll.

Marnie & Me

Lizz and Marnie are volunteers at Littleton Adventist Hospital. Their main task is to raise spirits and bring smiles to patients and staff, and they excel at their job. They go where they are needed, and often find themselves at the Children’s After Hours Care Center. As Lizz and Marnie make their way into the Center, Marnie spots a young boy with a bandage on his forehead and heads straight to him. He climbs up on the chair next to the boy, head adorned with a set of fuzzy bunny ears and tail wagging, he helps the young patient forget for a moment that he has just received emergency care.

Lizz Landert and her black Labrador retriever Marnie are a certified Pet Volunteer Team at the hospital. Marnie has had extensive obedience training in his youth and currently undergoes evaluations every few months in order to maintain his credentials at the hospital. Lizz, his guide, is equally committed to their mission. The two spend about one hour at the hospital during each visit, cheering up patients and helping them smile. Becoming a Pet Volunteer Team wasn’t always the plan for Lizz and Marnie. Life brought them together in the way life sometimes does, and through a series of coincidences, a beautiful team emerged.

Because of her allergy to dogs, Lizz hadn’t planned on working with them, but when her daughter requested to be part of the 4-H Guide Dog Training Program, Lizz agreed - that was 16 puppies ago. Marnie, Guide Dog number nine for the Landert family, will be turning 9 years old this summer. Marnie’s training was going quite well when they found that he had a slight heart valve problem, disqualifying him from graduating with the program. When a dog is dropped from the Guide Dog Training Program, he/she becomes a “career change dog” and is available for adoption. Despite her allergy, Lizz had a soft spot for Marnie and knew that he was meant to be part of their family.

Marnie soon became bored at home and seemed to long for something more. With his training, Lizz knew Marnie had the skills to help others, so she began to explore their options. Thinking back on her endearing childhood memories of assisting her mom in the hospital cantina, she had an idea. The two of them soon began volunteering in hospitals, eventually finding their home at Littleton Adventist Hospital where they have now been welcomed for almost 6 years.

One of Lizz and Marnie’s most memorable experiences at the hospital was with a patient who was truly touched by a visit from the pair. While walking through the halls one Thursday evening, a young lady stopped the pair and asked if the black lab was Marnie. Lizz was surprised by her question because she did not recognize the lady. The lady went on to explain that she had not yet had the opportunity to meet Marnie, but had heard all about him and wanted to thank him for what he had done for her mother. Her mother had visited with Marnie just two weeks prior and couldn’t quit talking about the amazing pet therapy that a dog named Marnie had provided. She had hoped each day that he might come back for another visit. While she didn’t have the opportunity to see Marnie again in the final days of her life, her daughter was grateful to meet the pair who had put a smile on her sick mother’s face.

Lizz and Marnie’s years with the Pet Volunteer Program at the hospital have made a profoundly positive impact on both of their lives. Marnie hasn’t been bored since he started working, and Lizz has gotten more of a reward from the program than she had ever expected. With tears in her eyes, she tells of the special place she holds in her heart for the Pet Volunteer Program at Littleton Adventist Hospital and the opportunity it has provided for her and Marnie to help others in their time of need.

Lizz and Marnie don’t view themselves as skilled or special individuals. Lizz believes herself to be a “simple person” who just loves visiting with, and helping others. As one member of the Littleton Adventist Hospital staff recounts, “The work that I witnessed as Lizz and Marnie made their way through the hospital halls, stopping to visit with those who pass them, putting smiles on every face – that’s the work of real life heroes”.