Roman and Stanley's story
Roman and his golden retriever Stanley have been volunteering at Sue Ryder St John’s Hospice for just over a year. After working in the NHS for four decades Roman felt the role would be a natural fit for him, while Stan just thoroughly enjoys all the attention!
On this page
Becoming a volunteer
I think my NHS background has definitely helped with the volunteering. I’m very comfortable in the hospice environment and also having seen the Pets As Therapy (PAT) dogs at my hospital gave me a real understanding of the positive effects they have.
I did 42 years as a registered nurse. In November 2022 I had heart surgery to replace an aortic valve. I went back to work on a part time basis in January 2023 and then in January 2024 I had a small stroke which affected my speech so following that I decided to retire.
After I retired, I wanted to do something more on my terms. The Pets as Therapy volunteer role suited me perfectly and it suited my dog as well.
Stan is four years old now and has always been a really calm dog, good with people of all ages and in different environments. We took both of our dogs to puppy school - we also have a Border Collie. It was someone there who suggested Stan would make a good PAT dog. I went through the process, which was fairly straightforward, and then I started the voluntary work about a year ago.
The hospice is only a couple of miles from where I live so I thought I would go on the off chance to see if they had a need. They had three PAT dogs but one had just retired believe it or not so they were keen to have us on board.
Introducing Stanley to the hospice
I took Stan up to see how he liked it and he was very relaxed about it so we started a three-month trial. Now we go every Tuesday and Stan seems to really enjoy it.
What I love to see is the reaction from the patients. It’s great to see the interactions bringing a smile to people’s faces. The staff love Stan as well.
When I worked in the NHS, I would see the PAT dogs coming into the hospital and I remember being really impressed with the impact they had on the patients, particularly those with dementia. It was really surprising how they would interact with the dogs, and I also think dogs are very intuitive.
I like to go to the hospice at least once a week and sometimes at the weekends when there are lots of visitors.
It’s a nice atmosphere at the hospice. The work they do there is very important and it’s a nice group of people.
As a volunteer you have to think about how the patients might be feeling and I always check whether someone wants to see Stanley before visiting a room. The reason I do this role is because I like to see those positive reactions from people and Stan enjoys all the fuss he gets. As long as he gets a fuss and a little treat he’s happy!
I’m in a routine where I take the dogs for a walk in the morning and then another shorter walk in the afternoon so I’m definitely getting my 10,000 steps! Now I’m thinking about doing a bit more volunteering at the hospice as there are lots of different ways that you can contribute.