Pet therapy through a computer screen

Pet therapy has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, something people need especially now. Cynnie Foss, volunteer program manager at UW Medical Center – Montlake, runs the hospital's pet-therapy program. Part of that is "Stop and Paws" in which she and Oly, her registered therapy dog, visit hospital staff, but those visits have been temporarily halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. She and colleagues came up with the idea to host a virtual session. "Having my dogs throughout this has really helped me," Foss says. "They’ve provided a great amount of pet therapy for me every night when I come home. Being able to share that with others who don’t have that means a lot to me."

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