Therapy dogs to help patients at new UC Irvine hospital

A pack of therapy dogs is ready to make their rounds at a new UC Irvine hospital.

Healthcare staff welcomed the paw patrol, which includes P-Nut, Pixel, MEG and their owners, to the facility, which will open to the public next week. Their mission is to comfort sick patients.

"You can see almost instantly that they feel more back to their normal life. They can put their medical issues that they came in from the emergency room temporarily behind them," charge nurse Ronny Ao said. 

Therapy dogs have walked the halls at UCI's trauma center in Orange for years. The fuzzy trio is part of a 14-dog team, each with their own trading card featuring a picture and stats on the back, including their favorite treats. 

The dogs are allowed to climb on the furniture.

"They're on the patient beds," pet therapy coordinator Sarah Phillips said. "We wander the hospital. We do get patient requests, so we do visit those requested patients. 

The dogs will be ready to greet patients on opening day next Wednesday. They'll be rounding the halls every day.