Rescue dog brings comfort across Southeast Missouri

FOX23 News at 9 p.m

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) — National Dog Day put a four-legged Southeast Missouri celebrity in the spotlight for the comfort and companionship she brings to hospice patients and nursing facility residents.

Ellie Mae visits facilities and homes alongside her owner, Candy Wilfong, a community educator and social worker for Crown Hospice.

Wilfong says Crown Hospice began taking dogs on visits as part of its mission to improve quality of life and help families make memories. Ellie Mae quickly became a favorite among residents and staff members who now ask for her by name.

“Ellie Mae has just fallen right into that,” Wilfong said. “We do lots of visits in facilities and homes. Home care agencies were always requesting Ellie Mae.”

Wilfong says the rescue dog can have an especially meaningful impact on people living with memory loss or dementia.

“If they are struggling with memory loss or maybe have a diagnosis of dementia, their faces will immediately light up,” Wilfong said. “Maybe they’re nonverbal, but when we enter the room, you see that facial recognition and they’re reaching down to pet her.”

Some residents who rarely speak begin sharing stories about dogs they previously owned and even remember their names, Wilfong said.

“It’s just a beautiful thing to witness and see,” she said.

An administrator in Sikeston helped match Wilfong with Ellie Mae after the loss of her previous visiting dog, Geriatric Jerry.

“It was so hard to lose him, and there was just a hole in my heart,” Wilfong said. “I figured when the time was right that another dog would enter my life. And that was Ellie Mae.”

Wilfong schedules Ellie Mae’s visits around her work and takes her to special events, including residents’ birthday celebrations. She says they try to make as many visits as possible.

When asked what she hopes patients take away from Ellie Mae’s visits, Wilfong’s answer was simple: “Just unconditional love.”