56 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com Zammy makes quite the entrance. A dog rock star, he is. Everyone stops. Kids stare, wide-eyed.They want to touch him, bury their heads in his irresistibly soft fur. We’re in the lobby at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Tampa to follow Zammy on one of his weekly rounds as a therapy dog. Right away, we don’t get very far. Children release the grip from their parents’ hands and ask if they can approach the dog. Parents respond with encouragement, cautioning their children to ask Zammy’s permission first.Todd Pitner, Zammy’s handler, enthusiastically wel- comes the children to come meet his dog. Where Zammy, a 106 pound Sheepadoodle is big, Todd is larger than life, and his dog’s biggest fan. No one can resist the powers of Zammy when these two are together, working the room. “You can’t stop putting your fingers in his fur,” Todd said. “It becomes kinesthetic.” He’s right. Everyone - kids, doctors, nurses, physical therapists - all want to touch Zammy. Many of the anxious or weary parents, while waiting for their child to finish physical therapy or another round of tests, also want to touch Zammy. For the children, he offers a moment of happiness, a reason to smile. For the staff, Zammy’s powers relieve stress to help prevent compassion fatigue. For the parents, he gives them a moment of resolve, in order to regain some strength before seeing their child again. One of those parents, Jennifer, has been bringing her daughter Marley to the hospital for three years. “Counseling therapy is my background,” she told us,“I know the impor- tance of therapy dogs. It’s always a nice diver- sion to have these dogs around. Dogs don’t judge and that’s why the kids are able to con- nect so easily with them.” When we visited the hospital with Zammy, many of the children in the lobby knew who he was, and called out his name to say hello.They’re the regulars who come to the hospital weekly or monthly - like Antonio and his brother Nicholas. The power of dogs is that they’re present with people.“His only filter is love,” saidTodd.“There is no discrimination in that dog.” Zammy became part of Todd’s family on Valentine’s Day, 2017.A few months later, during a visit to his neighbor’s house, Todd and Zammy met 12-year-old Shwanya. Todd’s neighbor was sponsoring the child, who had been flown to Tampa from the Caribbean to receive surgery at Shriners Hospitals for Children. She had just gone through the first of her scheduled surgeries and was in a lot of pain. Zammy immediately bonded with her. As Shwanya snuggled with Zammy, she toldTodd that she was bullied back home for her curved leg. “He brought so much joy to her,”Todd said.“When you’re in his presence, you don’t feel any pain, and I knew Shwanya was really hurting.” From the first momentTodd picked up Zammy, as a puppy, he knew he was holding something special. This moment between Shwanya and his dog - that was otherworldly. It was magical. When Todd discovered the therapy dog program at Shriners, he knew the reason Zammy had come into his life. “I’ve been selfish all of my life. Zammy opened my eyes to the power of giving selflessly of ourselves to others - especially children at Shriners Hospital.” Alakazam! The Magic of Zammy. Zammy with Marley, who has been coming to Shriners Hospital for Children for three years. She loves dogs and has a Plothound named Lucy at home.“They cuddle with each other all the time,” said Jennifer, Marley’s mom. –by Anna Cooke. Photography by Jacqui Silla.