Dogs Bring Comfort to the Child Abuse Program at Children’s Hospital
Maybe it’s his doleful look that snagged Pecos a dream job, which basically entails sleeping. “Kids think if he can sleep here, it must be a safe place,” said his handler, Michele Thames. The place is the Child Abuse Program at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk, and Pecos is a Labrador and golden retriever mix who helps Thames in her job as a forensic interviewer. Pecos sits with children on a carpeted bench while they tell their stories of abuse, allowing them to rub his ears or bury their faces in his neck. He also lets children walk him to the exam room, where he sits with them while they have physical exams. READ MORE HERE
---------------------------------------------By the time you finish reading this, 15 children will have been abused; In the next five minutes, 30 more; Within the next hour, 360 more; And by tonight, close to 8,000+ children will have suffered from abuse, 5 of which will die. Child abuse has increased 134% since 1980 and is now considered a worldwide epidemic. The high jump in child abuse deaths and the shocking increase in statistics highlights the frightening lack of public knowledge.
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It May Just Save a Child's Life!!