Watch Hospital Service Dogs Deliver Valentine’s Day Cards To Pediatric Patients In Houston

For the third year in a row, Valentine’s Day cards were sealed with a slobbery kiss and delivered with a tail wag at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.

The Texas hospital’s trio of service dogs continued the tradition of mouth-delivering hundreds of Valentine’s Day cards Wednesday, earning big smiles from patients and staff. 

Christy Lange, Memorial Hermann's facility dog program coordinator, told Southern Living that Valentine’s Day is the only day of the year that the dogs visit nearly all pediatric patients. And it’s always a hit.

“It gives [the patients] that sense of normalcy, let kids be kids, do things they would be doing if they weren’t in the hospital, like getting Valentine’s Day cards,” Lange says. 

Memorial Hermann currently employs three full-time facility dogs: Dexter, 7; Pilot, 4; and 5-year-old newcomer Declan. 

All three of the dogs were trained as task-based service dogs through Canine Companions. Lange says that delivering Valentine’s Day cards incorporates the training they already have. 

“They’ll grab it, they’ll hold it, and they’ll either deliver it or put their feet up on the bed,” she explains.  

It’s a simple gesture, but it means the world to the children. 

"They love it. It doesn’t get cuter than that. You open the door and the kids are instantly smiling,” Lange says. “It’s cute and it instantly brings that day brightener to them, especially with the downer of being in the hospital on a holiday."