Exclusive | Meet NYCs doctor dogs who are helping hospitalized kids heal

Polly may not wear a white coat, but she has excellent bedside manner.The Labrador Retriever recently visited an 8-year-old cancer patient at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Einstein (CHAM), who began experiencing tremors after doctors removed their breathing tube and reduced their sedative medications.“When Polly was present in the bed with this patient, they calmed significantly and their tremors were noticeably less frequent,” Katy Dessick, Polly’s handler and a certified child life specialist, told The Post.Polly’s presence helped ease what Dessick described as “an extremely difficult and emotional experience” for the child and their parents, who could see the difference the dog made.The small moment illustrates how facility dogs — specially trained canines who work alongside health care professionals — can offer more than a welcome distraction from hospital life.

Experts say they can help children manage anxiety, navigate frightening medical procedures and find the emotional breathing room to cope with serious illness.Research backs them up.A 2023 study surveyed medial staff at a Japanese children’s hospital and found that 73% of respondents who had observed facility dogs reported that the animals “Always” or “Very often” helped them gain patients’ cooperation with treatment, procedures and end-of-life care.At CHAM in the Bronx and Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, those benefits take shape through Polly, 4, and Lev, a 7-year-old Labrador Retriever who works in Maimonides’ pediatric unit.Serious illness can upend a child’s sense of normalcy.

Hospital stays, invasive procedures and separation from family and friends can leave young patients frightened, anxious or unsure how to process what they’re experiencing.Dr.Adit L.

Tal, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at CHAM, told The Post that children receiving care for blood disorders and cancer often struggle to express their feelings to doctors, nurses and other m...