Pet therapy team Dennis Jarosz and his dog Twinky are brightening the days of patients at St. Mary Medical Center
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
It was a big day for William F. Slotterbeck. For the first time in 90 days, he was going to try to stand. As his nurse pulled socks onto his feet for the occasion, Slotterbeck’s apprehension was evident through his boisterous persona. He didn’t know if he could do it. Thankfully, a special guest arrived at his St. Mary room in the nick of time to lift his spirits.
Bedecked with a bright pink harness emblazoned with the St. Mary Medical Center logo, Twinky the chihuahua sat calmly beside Slotterbeck on his hospital bed as he petted her, reminiscing on the 14 dogs he adopted himself over the years.
“What is that tongue?” he asked Twinky.
“Oh, she’s just been hitting the sauce,” joked her owner, Dennis Jarosz.
But Jarosz knew better. The centimeter of tongue protruding from Twinky’s tiny mouth is an effect of her cruel introduction into this world. For the first eight years of her life, Twinky was caged up in a puppy mill, resulting in the slight facial deformity and trouble walking for extended periods of time. Thankfully, Jarosz adopted her three years ago, rescuing her from that awful existence.
Now the two, along with Twinky’s sister Lillie, a Yorkshire Terrier/Papillon mix, are one of 18 pet therapy teams that visit patients at St. Mary in Langhorne. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the retired Jarosz brings one of his dogs for two hours in the morning, then returns with the other for two hours in the afternoon. On average, he visits 50 rooms a day and encounters more than 100 people.
“This is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Jarosz told The Times as we shadowed him and Twinky on a recent Thursday morning.
For Jarosz, who boasts a successful career as a senior vice president in sales marketing, there’s no better way to spend his retirement. As someone who traveled for work on a regular basis, he thought he’d go crazy sitting around the house. It wasn’t until a brief stay at St. Mary several years ago when a pet therapy team visited him that he discovered the volunteer group. He knew his girls, especially Twinky who experienced her fair share of dark days, could bring light to those struggling to overcome life’s biggest obstacles. He was right.
Despite her petite size, Twinky is something of a celebrity in the halls of St. Mary. As she rode in her front-facing pouch on Jarosz’ chest, paws comfortably hanging over the edge, she instantly grabbed the attention of everyone she passed. Squeals of “Twink!” were heard from physicians, nurses and cleaning staff alike. According to Jarosz, petting a dog is therapeutic not just for patients, but professionals working in the high-stress environment of a hospital.
A regular stop for Jarosz is the oncology unit, where he has found patients to be in extra need of a furry friend. Before entering a room, he always checks to make sure the patient is awake. He then asks if they like dogs. If this answer is “yes,” he reveals Twinky/Lillie and asks if they’d like to meet her, a question that’s usually met with an overwhelmingly positive response.
As soon as Jarosz stepped into patient Darlene Cook’s room, her excitement over the dog was palpable.
“Can I hold her?” she asked immediately.
As Cook admired Twinky, she chatted with Jarosz about her lifelong love for animals, reminiscing on how she raised raccoons, possums and even a bear with her father growing up. Jarosz spoke with Cook like she was an old friend, commenting on how she appeared in better spirits than when he visited her last.
This aura of kindness and care was brought by Jarosz to a number of other rooms, never wavering even when the person was too weak to converse back. When visiting one such patient named Thomas List, Jarosz simply placed Twinky on his bed, allowing him to rest his hand on her as she nestled into his side. List even received a tiny paw-five from Twinky before she left.
As for David and Kelley Zimmerman, the husband-wife duo happily spoke with Jarosz for several minutes, trying to prolong Twinky’s departure for as long as possible. Kelley, a five-year breast cancer survivor, and her husband said they lost their own dog about three months ago, but hope to get another in the near future.
After an hour, Jarosz took Twinky outside for a brief break. He explained meeting strangers can be tiring for an animal, so he’s sure to never have her or Lillie at the hospital for more than two hours at a time. As a health precaution, he also applies sanitizer on their paws after each patient interaction.
During the second portion of their visit, Jarosz and Twinky made their way around the infusion center, where she took a particular liking to one man with a delicious looking bagel on his bedside table.
Twinky’s busy morning ended with a visit to her favorite spot — the infusion center’s reception desk where her “aunts” fawned over her, awarding her with a treat for a job well done. ••
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
