Cook Children's Therapy Dog Diagnosed With Cancer, Begins Treatment

A therapy dog named Journey at Cook Children's Medical Center has been diagnosed with lymphoma, Cook Children's said Wednesday.

Cook Children's said in a statement on Twitter that they believe Journey's cancer was caught early and that she has already begun treatment.

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The Sit, Stay, Play! Program has some difficult news to share. Our beloved Journey has recently been diagnosed with lymphoma. We believe it was diagnosed early and she has already begun treatment. Because of her treatments, Journey will not be able to visit patients during the weeks she is receiving chemo. Once we know how she will respond in between treatments, she will be available for visits with patients and staff as tolerated. During her treatment weeks you may see Journey going in and out of the medical center wearing a burgundy vest. This vest will signify she doesn’t need to be petted. You are welcome to share encouraging words with her, but because she will be on chemo precautions we ask that you do not touch her. Journey loves being at the hospital and around her people; so we are going to try to have her here at the hospital resting in an office as much as possible. This is hard news to process because we are used to Journey being full of energy and working hard. Cook Children’s is known for how seriously we take the care of our patients and families; but we are also serious about taking care of our own, which includes our beloved dogs. Thank you for your continued support of Journey, her handler team, and all of Sit, Stay, Play! We will post updates on our Instagram as Journey continues on this new journey #journeysjourney #journeythedog

A post shared by Sit…Stay…PLAY! (@sitstayplay_cc) on Dec 11, 2019 at 12:33pm PST

Journey will not be able to visit patients during the weeks she is receiving chemotherapy, Cook Children's said. She will be available for visits with patients and staff once doctors know how she will respond in between treatments.

During her treatment weeks, Journey will wear a burgundy vest, signifying that she should not be petted or touched as a precautionary measure due to her chemotherapy. Those who see Journey are still welcome to share encouraging words with her as she continues her treatment.

During her treatment weeks, you may see Journey wearing a burgundy vest. This vest will signify she doesn’t need to be petted. You are welcome to share encouraging words with her, but because she will be on chemo precautions we ask that you do not touch her. (3/4) pic.twitter.com/96escdi0eM

— Cook Children's (@CookChildrens) December 11, 2019

Cook Children's staff said that Journey loves being at the hospital and around her people, so they will try to have her at the hospital resting in an office as much as possible.

Journey is a professionally-trained therapy dog who comforts people at Cook Children's through the "Sit Stay Play" program.

Cook Children's staff said they will post updates on their Instagram page about Journey's progress throughout her treatment.

This is hard news to process because we are used to Journey being full of energy and working hard. Thank you for your continued support of Journey and her handler team. Follow Sit, Stay, Play! on @instagram for updates throughout her cancer journey: https://t.co/1RmFw1AS4d. (4/4) pic.twitter.com/FK49TixVFC

— Cook Children's (@CookChildrens) December 11, 2019