Send this story Print this story

Adjust text size

Our Town: For the love of Carly

by Don Kazak

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto has a bona-fide superstar. She has big brown eyes, long blonde hair, weighs 58 pounds and walks on four legs.

Carly is a 4-year-old golden retriever who lights up the faces of the children she visits.

Her owner is Sandy Sentivany-Collins, the hospital's pain-management nurse. Sandy's job is to visit children (at the request of their doctors or nurses) because of difficulty the children are having with pain, despite their medication. Her work is made much easier by Carly, who has her own official hospital ID badge hanging from her collar.

Carly's work at the hospital started on a whim.

Two years ago, a 10-year-old girl had lost a leg because of an aggressive bacterial infection she incurred while swimming.

The acutely depressed girl turned the lights out in her hospital room, kept the curtains drawn over the windows, and didn't want to watch TV or listen to music.

Someone suggested to Sandy that she bring Carly by for a visit.

"It was amazing," Sandy said. "She had to get into a wheelchair to reach Carly." The girl's recovery was speeded by the affectionate dog.

Shortly after that, a second young patient, who had lost an arm in an auto crash that killed her step dad and injured her mom, also benefited from Carly's presence. That girl was hurt in Texas and didn't have any family to visit her for awhile.

But she had Carly. She saved her blueberry muffins from breakfast to give Carly treats.

And then there is Jennifer, 10, who has cystic fibrosis. She had a double-lung transplant in December.

"The first thing she said when she woke up and the (breathing) tube was taken out was 'I want Carly,'" Sandy said.

Jennifer returned to Packard Hospital as patient because of complications and has been there for three months.

When Carly walks into her room it's like two good friends greeting each other. Carly jumps up onto Jennifer's bed and puts her head in the sitting girl's lap.

Walking through the halls of Packard Hospital with Carly is like being part of a rock musician's entourage. There's no question who is the star. Everyone smiles and greets her.

"I thought people would like having a dog around, but everyone responds to Carly," Sandy said.

Carly has her own story. She was a rescued dog with abusive owners before Sandy got her. "She was terrified of people and would cower," Sandy said. It took her a month before she felt free enough to bark.

Now, Carly is a sweet dog with a big heart for kids. But she also knows when she is working.

"Outside the hospital, she is athletic and active, but slower and calmer inside the hospital," Sandy said. "She gets it."

She is also bilingual. Sandy has taught her how to sit, roll over and shake hands in English and Spanish.

That was demonstrated when Carly and Sandy visited one of Packard's classrooms and a Latino man, parent of a patient, at Sandy's suggestion gave her those commands in Spanish, to which she responded.

"We have a lot of non-English-speaking kids in the hospital," Sandy explained. She has also taught Carly two commands in Cantonese.

Walking through the hospital, Carly and Sandy visit the nursing stations on several wards and Carly greets the nurses as they greet her.

"It's good for Carly," Sandy said. "She gets a lot of attention."

Carly gets her own "consults," specific requests from nurses and doctors to visit their patients.

One of them, 3-year-old Bailey, is a girl who recently had heart surgery. Her parents are in the room when Carly visits and their eyes light up almost as much as Bailey's. Her mom puts a towel on the floor so the small, slight girl with a big grin can sit there. Carly immediately puts her head in Bailey's lap.

Sandy works part time at the hospital and usually brings Carly with her, but not always.

"When I'm here and she's not, I get into a lot of trouble," Sandy jokes.

Senior Staff Writer Don Kazak can be e-mailed at dkazak@paweekly.com. ?? ?? ?? ??