Ben E.

M&M’s Supernatural Thing

by handler Maryjo Brown:

Ben E. joined the family as a companion, a family member.  Smitten with Bodhi, my first bloodhound, having room in my home and heart, I decided to add a second bloodhound to our pack.  That he would have the makings to work as a therapy dog would be icing on the cake.  Turned out he was perfectly suited for the job.  He had an innate therapy dog personality and in abundant measure. He was a natural. Of all his qualities, his desire to engage with people stood head and shoulders above his other stellar qualities.  He was easy going, not easily startled, curious of novel situations which he approached with a mature confidence.  And unlike many bloodhounds, he was eager to please.  He looked to me for cues and I to him. 

Even as a puppy, Ben E. was at home in the emergency department of the Reading Hospital, West Reading, PA; and it was in this environment that he was trained and acclimated to therapy dog work.  He was certified with Alliance of Therapy Dogs when he turned a year old and he went on to do his best work with me and my work as a mental health professional in the hospital’s Paws for Wellness Animal Assisted Therapy program in the emergency department and the hospital’s Miller Cancer Center and hospice services. 

Sadly, the longevity of his life was cut short stricken with a terminal illness he passed shortly after his third birthday.

A remarkable dog my beloved, silly, goofy, gentle Ben E. He will be forever alive in my heart and in the memories of a time when we made a difference in the peoples’ lives he touched.