Three-year-old Bella has a big job.
Together with her human, Bob Brandkamp, a risk manager at Avista, the two have spent the past two years providing pet therapy at community events, as well as to patients on hospice and to children who have experienced a trauma.
“I get to be a blessed observer,” said Brandkamp, whose longtime interest in mental health advocacy led him to animal therapy. “At the end of the day, just seeing the smile on a 7-year-old’s face or, for that individual who’s facing the end of life or another traumatic event, just the few minutes of comfort it brings with something as simple as providing a dog is just amazing.”
Bella, who is an Australian labradoodle, loves being with everyone, said Brandkamp, whether it’s a child as young as 2 or a hospice client who is 93. “She’s very adept at really understanding what a person needs. She’s more calm and docile working with younger children because she knows if she gets excited she might scare that child. Working with older individuals, she may be more engaging and interactive; we have a hospice client who likes her to get up on the bed with her to feed her treats.
“It’s amazing how dogs can sense what the person in front of them needs at the time.”
Along with volunteering every Saturday at Horizon Hospice in Spokane, Washington, Bella and Brandkamp greeted students at Freeman High School during their first month back to school after a tragic shooting in 2017, and for the past two years, they have helped entertain children waiting in line during the Salvation Army’s Backpack Drive, which is sponsored by Avista.
“On the Avista side, the customer really is at the core of everything we do,” said Brandkamp. “So, to take a dog out to work with our customers in a variety of settings and just see the joy on their faces … one of the things we want to do is to create customer experiences, do things our customers value and support our customers.”