Hard-working hospital staff received an unusual visitor this week.
Doctors and nurses at the Royal Bolton Hospital's Intensive Care Unit were excited to meet Mason, a trainee support dog.
The Yellow Labrador Golden Retriever cross had been training to be a guide dog but he was too gentle and not confident enough for the role.
Instead he was taken on by Sarah Thornton, an i ntensive care consultant in Bolton, who fosters dogs in her spare time.
After getting permission from hospital bosses Sarah took Mason into work so other staff could spend some much-needed time with him following yet another gruelling shift.
"Staff morale on the critical care wards has been hit hard by Covid," Sarah said.
"Lots of people have died leaving a big psychological impact on staff well-being. To be able to take Mason in has been invaluable, it’s what the staff really needed."
Her colleague Neal Ashurst, an operating department practitioner on the unit added: “I had the best day at work - thank you so much to Sarah for bringing Mason along.”
Although Mason will not be able to become a guide dog, he is set to take a different path and will work as a buddy dog for children with vision impairments.
Verity De-Winton, support dog lead at Guide Dogs explained that buddy dogs, while not able to help with mobility like traditional guide dogs, help children gain confidence.
Some children with a vision impairment can lack confidence in themselves, having a knock-on effect to other areas of development but having a buddy dog helps their sense of independence by giving them a chance to take responsibility for the care of the dog, completing activities like grooming, and feeding with the help of their family, Verity said.
She added: “Buddy dogs help to transform a child’s life. Parents report seeing remarkable changes in their children’s confidence and behaviour.
"Children who have previously been shy can not wait to get out of the house with a buddy dog by their side."
Once restrictions are lifted later in the year Mason will continue his buddy dog training and be matched to a child with a vision impairment but in the meantime, he will continue to cheer up staff at the hospital.
For more information about supporting guide and buddy dogs, click here.
