Wednesday, Stanley spent the morning comforting patients in the neuropsych 
units at UCLA. When we were leaving, I somehow found myself in front of the main 4th floor elevators instead of the core elevators that I usually take.
While we were waiting, a man walked over to see Stanley. As he was petting him, he quietly told me how much he loved the dogs in the hospital. He then began to share a story that explained the depth of his feelings.
Years earlier, his daughter, who was ten at the time, was a patient at UCLA. She had been in a coma for several days when a big white dog was brought in to see her, hoping for some response. As soon as he added that it was a Poodle named Apollo, I realized that he was talking about one of the most treasured PAC stories.
Laura, Apollo’s human partner, brought Apollo to his daughter’s room and placed him on a chair next to the bed. They all spoke softly to her and even placed her hands on Apollo to pet him. After awhile, when there was no response, Laura and Apollo left.
Ten minutes later, the miracle happened. His little girl woke up and asked for Apollo by name. The man looked very surprised when I said, “then you had someone call to have Apollo come back.” I explained that, like Laura, I had been a long time part of the program. In those early years I brought in my first PAC dog Charley, who looked a lot like Stanley.
At the time, the story about his daughter had truly touched my heart. It had shown me the possibilities of what the dogs could accomplish. It had inspired me. Hearing about it now, so many years later, almost brought me to tears
Before we left, the man took out his phone and showed me a photo of his daughter today, a lovely twenty-six year old woman. In this season of miracles, I am so very grateful for this beautiful encounter.
