Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Adds Second Facility Dog, Nettle

Nettle, a 2-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever, has joined Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) as the organization’s second facility dog. Nettle was born and raised at Susquehanna Service Dogs (SSD), a part of Keystone Human Services, and has been trained to work at CHOP. Alongside our first facility dog, Dilly, a popular pup within CHOP’s halls, Nettle’s role will be to support normalizing the hospital environment through play, providing patients with an alternative focus or distraction, encourage patient engagement during therapies, and delivering comfort and sensory input. Nettle will primarily work on the eighth floor at the hospital in Philadelphia while also visiting select cardiology and neurology units.

Here are some fun facts about Nettle:

• Nettle was one of eight puppies!
• Training starts at about 2-3 days old so she has had more than two years of training experience.
• CHOP handlers receive about 80 hours worth of training to be qualified to work with facility dogs like Nettle.
• Did you know that Nettle and Dilly have the same mother?!
• Nettle’s favorite activity is playing fetch.

“We are excited to be adding Nettle to our Child Life team aiming to serve our patient population in a positive way through our facility dog program,” said Danielle Stewart, Child Activity Coordinator in the Department of Child Life, Education and Creative Arts Therapy who is Nettle’s handler. “Having Nettle will allow for even more creative ways to engage and comfort patients we care for on our Philadelphia campus. Child Life will continue to partner with various teams, like physical therapy and occupational therapy, to meet the needs and understand which patients would benefit most from this unique service.”

Check out this slide show of Nettle as she is welcomed to the CHOP community.

The addition of Nettle was made possible through a gift from The Simpson Family Trust. To learn more about the facility dog program, which is part of the Gerald B. Shreiber Pet Therapy Program, visit the Facility Dog Program website.