As a therapy dog at the Capital Health Medical Center in Hopewell, New Jersey, Quincy, a gentle giant, earned a good reputation for himself. The mastiff, who was adored by both the hospital staff and the patients, always accompanied its pet parent Karen March on her rounds for more than eight years.
For Karen, Quincy is not her first mastiff or her first therapy dog. Her first therapy dog was Bella and she was a huge dog weighing 150 pounds.
Karen did not intend for Bella to have specialist training. But after observing other therapy dogs at obedience school, the pet parent concluded that the female mastiff had the correct temperament for the task.
However, Bella detested hospitals because the equipment made her anxious. Her favorite pastime was visiting senior citizens in nursing facilities. Bella visited a nursing home every Wednesday, and the residents were always excited to give her pets upon her arrival.
Before retirement, the female mastiff served as a therapy dog for over a decade. Despite that, Bella continued to meet one of her fave humans, which just happens to be Karen’s 92-year-old mother.
The female mastiff was around four years old when Karen decided that it was time to get another dog, and this time she wanted a bigger one. That was when Karen first met Quincy, and he weighed less than two pounds then and was small enough to squeeze into her hand.
Quincy eventually grew into a massive 190-pound dog, but he remained as kind and submissive as ever. The mastiff is even able to detect whether someone is terrified of him because of his size. When this happens, the mastiff would lie on his back and kindly request belly rubs. This is Quincy’s way of reassuring the person that he is not a threat.
Each time they visit the hospital, Quincy and Karen stop by different wards and explore the halls until they find a patient who could use a hug from the mastiff. Additionally, Quincy has the ability to discern which patients need him the most.
Once, while touring the hospital as normal, the mastiff strolled directly to a room at the end of a hallway. Few employees were aware that the room was occupied at that time. It turned out that a nurse was temporarily sleeping there, and Quincy knew that visiting the nurse would make her feel much better.
Karen revealed that despite the mastiff’s hectic lifestyle, he is a huge couch potato. He prefers sunbathing to chasing squirrels around their yard, unlike Bella.
Source: capitalhealthnj