ORLANDO, Fla. – He walks the hallways of AdventHealth Orlando in his white coat, and the nurses, doctors and patients can’t keep their hands off of him. Each person walking by cannot resist his charm or his charisma.
He’s quiet, yet has a magnetic personality that pulls you in. The constant touching would bother most, but he is just fine with everyone reaching out and caressing his head. He’s especially fond of having his belly rubbed.
By now, you’ve likely figured out this mysterious hall-walker is a dog. But he’s not just any dog.
Duke McDreamy is a therapy dog who volunteers at AdventHealth Orlando.
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If his name sounds familiar, you can thank “Grey’s Anatomy.” That’s all we are going to say about that.
Duke’s mom, Tiffany Beres, says being with Duke is like walking around with a rock star. They have to arrive extra early so they can start their shift on time.
“It takes me about 45 minutes to clock in,” she explained.
Even when they’re leaving, Beres says it takes about an hour to get to the car because they are stopped nonstop.
Duke is always up for the job. Tiffany says she was inspired to become a pet therapy volunteer because she saw, firsthand, how it helped her dad when he was hospitalized in 2020.
She tells me, “He had some major surgery and some major health problems. With that came some complications. They call it ICU delirium, and it makes them a little off, and they’re not themselves.”
She says it was difficult seeing her dad go through so much, but then something happened.
“They brought in a therapy dog and I watched his demeanor change, and I watched him kind of come back to us a little bit for that brief moment. It was a joy for us, and it was also for him as well. Very healing in his journey. So, as soon as I saw that, I knew I wanted to volunteer in some capacity,” she said.
That capacity came in the form of Duke, a great Pyrenees. Duke is shaggy, white and takes up some real estate, so he is hard to miss. Tiffany says she knew Duke would be the perfect therapy dog the moment she saw him.
“I fell in love with him the day he was born, and I knew he was special. I knew he had such a kind heart and such a gentle soul. So, I wanted to be able to share him with the world,” she said.
Duke is almost 4 years old and has been on the job for about a year now. Tiffany says he loves it.
She says that Duke works hard, but he seems to understand his job is a pretty important one. Patients see him, and whatever they may be going through seems to dissipate the moment Duke strolls in the room.
“They say that, you know, pet therapy dogs, they come in and they take on all of the sorrow and the pain of the people that they’re visiting, and then give all of their love and their joy,” Tiffany explained.
She says when Duke leaves, he’s exhausted because he has truly given it his all.
When his shift is over, Tiffany says Duke is tired, but happy.
At home, Duke gets sleep and is spoiled, so when it’s time to start his next shift, he is ready to answer the call for cuddles.
Just what the doctor ordered.
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