The repetition was a bit eh at times, but I didn’t mind it too much especially because it was so cute and so much fun. And I just loved seeing those kids go from worried, frowning, and unhappy to happy and not so stressed out. Plus, the last parts of the hospital visit just made me laugh so hard, seeing Dot in that wheelchair held by one of the kids and then racing around. XD

We loved the previous collaboration between this pair on 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗴 and this book is equally as good. This story was written some time ago inspired by Julia Donaldson’s visit to The Evelina Hospital in London but was recently published and has taken on a new significance with events of this year. My novel The Giants and the Joneses is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic Princess Mirror-Belle who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old.Pets As Therapy has also launched a READ 2 DOGS programme, helping children who are reluctant readers to enjoy books. What will the assessment involve? This is a really nice story with lively illustrations. The story rhymes beautifully, and the story is engaging and makes us smile.

The illustrations depict all the sorts of things children might see in a hospital, encouraging them to talk of charts, sanitiser, doctors and nurses. The comparison with Dot in her own form of hospital, recovering from her own accident, is a great lead in to calm children’s inexperience. This is the charming story of Dot the dalmatian, a very special dog indeed. Instead of the normal visits to the park, Dot accompanies her lovely owner Rose to the hospital to soothe and entertain the children, babies, parents, doctors and nurses who are there. She even learns how to sign hello to Joe, a boy who is deaf.

How to arrange a Pets As Therapy visit to a hospital or residential home

We are proud to be part of the Kennel Club Bark and Read Programme. We have many dogs that visit schools to help children develop their reading skills and build confidence. The story could be used by teachers and parents to stimulate discussion about a hospital stay and introduce children to hospital vocabulary, the Wallaby Ward illustration is particularly full of detail. It’s also a great introduction to the concept of a hospital dog and gives children an opportunity to talk about how they feel when they are ill.

This brilliant book written by the doyenne of rhyme Julia Donaldson and illustrated by the incredibly talented Sara Ogilvie is based on a real life hospital dog and her owner. This story features, Dot, the Dalmatian and Rose. Together they visit the children in Wallaby ward. Dot becomes everyone’s favourite visitor and a pat, stroke and cuddle with Dot calms anxious nerves, cheers up bored teenagers and soothes a baby’s tears. I just love the idea of a hospital dog bringing such comfort and therapy to others. When Joe, a young deaf patient is leaving the hospital for home, it is up to Dot to save the day! At the end of the story, the kindness Dot has shown to others is beautifully repaid. Pets As Therapy, a national charity founded in 1983, relies on its many volunteers who, along with their well-behaved dogs, make regular visits to nursing homes, hospitals, hospices and day care centres. The volunteers spend time with patients, residents or visitors, allowing them to stroke the PAT Dog and enjoy some companionship. I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs.During the assessment, carried out by a Pets As Therapy accredited assessor or vet, you will need to be able to show that your dog is friendly and well-behaved, responds to your commands, and walks on a relaxed lead. The stunning illustrations show the range of children in the ward; a bored teenager, a child without hair, kids on crutches or bed bound, children in wheelchairs, kids who are unsure or unhappy, and Dot visits each helping in some way to make them smile. I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him). Graeme Hall, renowned for his expertise in training unruly dogs on Channel 5’s Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly, embarks on a new journey within the world of canines.