Newfoundland dog in hospital - whatever next?

[Globules]

Not that I know my breeds, but Newfoundland was the closest I could find in Google. Whatever it was, it was large and very furry and should not be in a hospital.

You can see it's not being used as a service dog by the way it's being led.

This "my dog has to go everywhere" stupid craze has to end now.

AIBU?

All my family would love that! And none of us would be worrying about whether he’d washed his paws. 🐶❤️

I think it's a lovely sight, hospitals would be better places with dogs roaming about, they're miserable as hell with just humans inside them. What a gorgeous dog 🤩

Aw what a beautiful dog and I'm sure they were a very good boy or girl. Would brighten up my day to see them anywhere and especially a hospital. Newfies are such gentle giants.

OP did you really think that dog was just snuck into the hospital without an OK from the staff, and all the necessary precautions taken? It's clearly meant to be there.

Sneaking a Newfoundland dog anywhere is quite a big undertaking, so if that is indeed the case then all respect to whoever did it!

I love dogs - but not a fan of them in shops, cafes, pubs - etc.

Obviously if therapy dogs, services dogs etc perfectly fine and own dog visits to say goodbye if terminally ill, but shouldn't be if hospitals for any other reason.

It's not a race to the bottom. Women who have just given birth shouldn't have to put up with other patients' stinky, noisy, disruptive visitors of any species.

Yes. My daughter has a health anxiety and is also scared of dogs. When we went to the Walk In Centre she was so frightened. Having any dog there, particularly a huge one, would have made the situation far worse.

Dogs are brought in to visit patients all the time. When I was in hospital a while ago, a man came I with a dog that people could play with if they wished. I loved it. So did several other patients. He didn't go near patients that didn't show an interest.

I took my parents very badly behaved dog to see my dad, nurse suggested it. I said I was worried he’d wee on the floor as he’d be excited . She looked at the rest of the patients and said I’m used to it don’t worry.

😂😂

I'd much rather have canine friends than human ones. Dogs are pure and humans are vile.

How lovely, hope it continues to be a thing

I have medical trauma related PTSD and I am absolutely terrified of hospitals. Having a dog there, particularly a huge one, would have made a hospital experience much better for me.

See how that works?

I always feel so sorry for children who are scared of dogs. To me it means they are missing one of life’s great pleasures.

I try to avoid getting drawn in to the dog-hating threads these days, but of all the only-on-MN ways to describe dogs, "pissbags" has to be my new favourite! Excretion is a condition of life, so you and everyone you love are pissbags. If this is a joke skewering the OTT attitude to dogs on here, then well done. If not, then thanks for the laugh.

Meanwhile back in the real world, I took my cute little pissbag for a walk this morning and, as usual, people smiled at her or stopped to say hello. If any Mumsnetters stalked past muttering angrily about bodily functions, we didn't even notice.

I took one of my (admittedly tiny) ones with me to visit my grandma in her nursing home. There was literally a queue of old folk who wanted a cuddle with her. As I was leaving, the Manager asked me to ensure I brought her with me next time, since she had “brightened everyone’s day”. So I did. She visited weekly for 3 years and they all loved it. Anyone who didn’t want to go near her didn’t, no problem. And if there had been one or two people who did have a problem with it, does that mean that the 30 odd people who loved it should miss out? I don’t think so.

They had therapy dogs in Addenbrookes, they lifted our mood no end as we sat drinking endless cups of miserable coffee for weeks on end while DH's son was operated on for a brain tumour and in for weeks at a time.

One of them was a huge labradoodle - he was so soft and gentle. I'm filling up thinking of it now.

Why would you introduce another fear into the hospital setting? You obviously know what it is like to be afraid, but you have no concern for my child as you would bring in something that would make the situation impossible for her to handle.
See how that works?

I trust the hospital to have risk assessed where therapy, and assistance dogs can and cannot go. I have a family member with a guide dog, and there have been occasions where an alternative escort is needed for hospital visits. It’s not a free for all.

I have an assistance dog, who is classed as medical equipment, the same as my wheelchair is. Many disabled people have assistance dogs, and many disabled people need to attend hospitals regularly. This means people are sometimes likely to come across dogs in hospitals.

No, I have no concern for your child being scared of a perfectly safe dog that has absolutely no interest in them, when not having my medical equipment with me could put my life at risk.

Perhaps you should work on your child's fear, rather than expecting disabled people to risk their lives in case there might be someone scared of a big, bad dog in a hospital.

Therapy dogs don't just rush around randomly rushing up to people, surely you realise this? It is all very controlled.

And if you and your child both sought help for your phobia, as perhaps you should, there may come a point in time where a PaT dog could help with your treatment.

Dogs are pure.....? In that case why is the first thing they do when they go and see another dog is sniff it's backside? What is the purpose?

Meanwhile, in Alaska...
https://edition.cnn.com/videos/us/2023/04/09/moose-alaska-providence-hospital-anchorage-cprog-orig-jc.cnn

People who don’t like dogs don’t have to stroke them. You do know it’s not compulsory don’t you? And everyone apparently has a bloody phobia these days. Except they don’t. Maybe they don’t like dogs, but to suggest that hospitals and other places are full of people with debilitating phobias of dogs is just bollocks. It’s just another reason for the dog haters to get up in arms over what has been proven to be a positive impact on people’s wellbeing.

The dog will have been risk assessed and taken into the hospital accordingly.

Almost all hospitals have therapy dogs these days. Interaction with them is a choice.

Taking a trained, permitted dog into a hospital is far less offensive than taking illegal pictures in a hospital and uploading them to the internet.

@Huckyfell They sniff another dogs butt for information on the dog, hormones, identity, the sex of the dog and whether or not they recognize it or not. It is not done in a perverse or dirty way, it is purely done to find out information of the other dog. It is their natural behaviour and all dogs do it. It does not mean they are not pure.