Joyful sounds break the reserved quiet expected in a hospice setting as Rummy happily waltzes into a room.
The patient – a small, frail-looking man tucked into the bed with eyes closed – is surrounded by those who care about him.
“You’re exactly what I needed,” one woman says, reaching down to pat the bernadoodle’s thick coat.
Rummy responds to the human happiness with a gleeful grin, giving in to the pets, and awaiting direction from owner/handler Celine Foucher to perch on the bed and provide comfort to the man.
Puppy love in #yyj – Spent some quality time with Rummy, Celine, Kirsten and others @VictoriaHospice yesterday, here's a peak into the story to come at https://t.co/MTAc7DQ28u. pic.twitter.com/DGnC6eYauF
— Victoria News (@VictoriaNews) August 28, 2025
It’s the moment he’s been anticipating since Foucher put on his blue PATS (Pacific Animal Therapy Society) bandana in the parking lot at Victoria Hospice.
Six-year-old Rummy loves this work, Foucher says. “He’s built for this work” and even thrives on it. The animated excitement he carries from the parking lot shifts to calm when he hits the ward. This once rambunctious puppy is now a prime therapy animal.
“He turned into this very calm, peaceful dog. All he wants is attention and pets from people – 24/7, he just wants to be around humans if he can,” Foucher said.
The Saanich pair has been doing volunteer pet therapy work since 2023, starting with student visits at the University of Victoria. A nurse by trade, Foucher isn't in palliative care, but understands the work.
“Rummy was very good with students and brought a lot of joy. I felt like I had the skill set that would be well-fitted here and that I would maybe get more of it as well. Rummy enjoys it either way,” she said.
“I just enjoy being able to bring some peace to people. I know how hard end-of-life can be, and he’s my favourite thing in the world and he brings me happiness. If he can do that for someone, even for five minutes, I think that makes a big difference.”
The animated response of the family isn’t new to Foucher, she figures more than half their work is really with families. Not everyone wants a dog to visit, but those who do are visibly responsive. “They just brighten up and shove everything off the bed.”
In this case, the entire conversation shifts to the dog, questions of his temperament, comments on his beauty and even that grin on his face. Patients have a similar response, says hospice nurse Kirsten Lambohs, also a fan of Rummy and his PATS peers.
“The value to the patients is probably fairly obvious to people. They’re scared, they’re in pain, they’re away from home, and quite often home for them includes a pet,” Lambohs said. “Most people know that animals provide us with that unconditional love.”
What may be less obvious is the therapy the pets provide the staff at Victoria Hospice, from the moment they step off the elevator and perhaps snag a treat from the nurses' station, to those final few moments after the patient work is done and there’s some free time for staff.
“We get to take five minutes and have a cuddle, have a lick,” Lambohs said with a smile. “As much as we feel blessed and honoured to do this, and be with people at the end of life, it tolls on you emotionally.”
Twice a week, teams from PATS visit the end-of-life facility on Richmond Road to visit with patients, family and staff.
“The dogs can reach people in a different way than other types of therapy and consolation,” explains Kimberley Nemrava, placements coordinator for PATS. “The joy and unconditional love a dog can bring is really special.”
Someone who did the work with her chocolate Lab until the pup crossed the rainbow bridge, Nemrava is one of eight board members for the society that boasts about 90 therapy teams – one handler, one dog – visiting about 90 sites in primarily Greater Victoria. The group includes a handful of “legacy teams” who have moved away and continue the volunteer work on other parts of the Island. “They’re just out in the community spreading the love.”
Any of those teams will tell tales of folks from nonverbal to verbose, and the pleasure response of seeing and visiting with a pet. Nemrava recalls residents in the long-term care site she regularly visited calling out for Sophie the minute she stepped on the unit. They’d remember the dog’s name, not necessarily hers.
“The joy and unconditional love a dog can bring is really special,” the Fairfield resident said. “We have a wonderful group of volunteers with their pets who are out literally every day visiting people in the community in hospitals, care homes, schools, and I just want them to know this is happening in their community.”
Elementary school visits frequently include a high number of neurodivergent kids. On one such visit in Sidney, she recalls a handler asking the small swarm of students to give the dog a little space. Once youngster piped up: “Does he have dogtism?” The autistic child explained that sometimes that meant they needed a little extra space. After the handler suggested perhaps that was the case, the youngster sat down with their furry new friend for several minutes – sharing their experience, strategies and tips for living with dogtism.
Not unlike Victoria Hospice, PATS relies on the generosity of the community for funding, and the call for pet therapy exceeds capacity at the small non-profit that has only one part-time staffer. They’re always looking for more potential teams.
“We need to ensure that it’s continued and that as many people as possible are able to take advantage of it,” Lambohs said of the pup therapy program at hospice. “Everybody at some point is going to have a friend, a family member, a partner, a mother, a sister, a daughter, who is going to need palliative care or hospice care, and I think that what is done now will benefit everybody at some point.”
Learn more about both organizations online at https://www.patspets.ca/ and https://victoriahospice.org/.
