Children's Hospital & Medical Center is getting a new furry, four-legged employee.
Sven, is a three and a half year old golden retriever who, for two years, has served as a facility dog at Children's. His handler Britta Carr, a Child Life Specialist, says although Sven works hard, he needs a helping paw. "We are really busy right now, and Sven has done really great here at the hospital, and so we're really happy to add another furry friend."
On Monday, Sven's furry friend will report for duty as the newest member of the Children's team. Carr says the new addition will perform the same duties as Sven. "He helps getting kids up after surgery, he helps with procedures. He'll get in bed and snuggle with kids while they have an IV start. He works with our rehab team to help get kids moving and motivated."
Carr says the new pup will come from the same training facility that Sven did. "We go through Canine Assistants out of Atlanta, Georgia and they go there for a year and a half. They're born at the facility, they're raised to be service dogs, like a diabetic alert or seizure alert dog and they all train at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Facilities.”
On Wednesday, Sven got to find out what his new coworker would be by eating a puppy gender reveal cake. As you can see below...a little girl Goldendoodle (a hybrid between a golden retriever and a Poodle) will be joining big brother Sven.
You can follow Sven's adventures on his Instagram page here.