Australian vet Dr Chris Brown visits young patients at Perth Children's Hospital with support dog Murphy
A well-timed visit from vet and TV personality Chris Brown lifted the spirits of young patients at Perth Children's Hospital on Thursday.
Dr Brown popped into the ward, alongside support dog Murphy, with Telethon gifts in hand as he chatted to youngsters like Kate Wagner.
The 16-year-old has been in hospital for more than a year following a severe bacterial meningitis infection in May last year.
She has been battling a serious central nervous system infection since, and is often in a lot of pain.
Kate and Dr Brown bonded over their love of kelpies, discovering they both own the breed. Missing her own pup back home, Kate showered cavoodle Murphy with all the pats and scratches.
'It's really good (having support dogs at PCH) because a lot of the time you can't go outside,' she said.
'So, even bringing up my own dogs, I can't go see them or anything . . . there's weeks at a time I can't see a dog — I'm dog deprived!'
Kate's mum, Jo Wagner, said they found out just hours before the visit that Kate had had a stroke sometime in the past few days.
It means she's due to start another gruelling round of treatment to try get her infection under control.
'It's just awesome, the joy that it gives kids. Kate's got the biggest smile on her face,' Ms Wagner said.
'It's so hard because she's really sick, she's in so much pain, and so . . . it's just beautiful . . . animals just do something, (they) bring joy.'
Dr Brown said it was a pleasure to see kids doing it tough in hospital 'embrace something different in their day'.
'Often the kids in here have pets at home they're missing. So dogs like Murphy become sort of that temporary replacement pet for them, to have a pat and just to feel that little touch of unconditional love again,' Dr Brown said.
Telethon weekend is October 18 and 19.
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