Trained dogs visit COVID-19 vax clinics to distract nervous people from the needle
CTV
Therapy dogs are being brought to COVID-19 vaccination clinics to help people -- including children -- who are nervous about getting their shots.
At some facilities in Saskatchewan, Quebec and British Columbia, children and adults who have a fear of needles or who worry about getting a protective jab against COVID-19 can sit next to a dog and pet them to reduce anxiety.
In some vaccination clinics in Quebec, the trained dogs sit on people's laps or lie down next to them.
Therapists say the dogs have a profoundly calming effect on people, and in Quebec have stopped some with an acute fear of needles from fainting in clinics.
Colleen Dell, an expert in dog therapy at the University of Saskatchewan, has been taking her trained dog Anna-Belle to clinics in Saskatoon and studying the effect.
