Users of Sheffield’s mental health NHS services have been making a furry friend, as they now have regular visits from a therapy dog to offer them a helping paw in their recovery.

Laika, a four year old labradoodle, is registered with Therapy Dogs Nationwide and owned by Debbie Baker, a Care Coordinator in the Community Enhancing Recovery Team at Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust (SHSC).

Debbie brings Laika to visit service users at SHSC on her days off and has service users saying they feel more relaxed after her visits.

Residents on SHSC’s Stanage and Dovedale 2 wards have benefited from Laika’s visits.

“I decided to register Laika as a therapy dog because in a previous job I had seen the benefits of a therapy dog visiting mental health wards. Laika is non-judgemental, she’s calm and enjoys interacting with all sorts of people. It’s really lovely to see staff and patients chatting together and showing each other the different tricks Laika can do.”

Georgie Mellor, Deputy Ward Manager on Stanage Ward, said: “Laika is everybody’s best friend and staff and service users alike look forward to her visits.

“She’s so full of love and care for everybody she meets. She really does put a shine on anybody’s day who’s lucky enough to meet her.”

Laika has had to follow special COVID-19 prevention measures recently, being sprayed with an antibacterial and antiviral treatment before visiting.

If you want to find out more about registering a therapy dog, go to www.tdn.org.uk