Watch as therapy dogs celebrate retirement from hospital with a grand farewell party

Two therapy service dogs at a hospital in Ohio received a grand farewell party after serving children for almost a decade.

Leica and Chevy, two 10-year-old golden retriever/lab/poodle mix dogs and graduates of the Canine Assistants, a non-profit which trains and provides service dogs, bid goodbye to their positions at Cincinnati Children’s earlier this month on Feb. 5 with lots of cuddles and kisses by staff members of the hospital and other guests, including members of the local media.

Leica’s handler and Child Life Specialist at Cincinnati Children’s Kerri Birkett told USA TODAY Friday she was overwhelmed with all the love the dogs received at the party.

"So many staff members said they both (the dogs) impacted their time here, (and) it was really just for them to be able to come in and see the dogs one last time and kind of have that moment (to say) goodbye to something that's been such a huge part of their working life," Birkett said, adding many staff members even asked the kids "who were able to, come out say hi to the dogs."

"It was really great to see the staff come out and have that moment of ending of their experience with the dogs," Birkett said.

'It's just like chaos'

While the party was an emotional one for the humans, Cincinnati Children's spokesperson Eric DeFreeuw told USA TODAY the two pooches had a blast.

"(Whenever) they get together, it's just like chaos," DeFreeuw laughed. "They're not siblings but they seem like they are because they're just running and tumbling over each other."

DeFreeuw said Chevy and Leica didn't get a chance to interact professionally all that often due to their different assignments but when the two "do have a little get togethers, it's so funny watching them, because they're just having their own party."

"They're running around, doing their own thing, and it's like they're in their own happy place," DeFreeuw said.

Serving patients since 2016

Leica joined Cincinnati Children's in Feb. 2016 when she was a year and half old while Chevy, named after actor Chevy Chase, joined a few months later in Nov. 2016. Leica's primary area of focus was with the outpatient and adaptive care team and Chevy served the inpatient units at the hospital's Burnet Campus.

Chevy’s handler and Child Life Specialist Katie Bradford told USA TODAY that Chevy gave cuddles to all kinds of kids, from "those in intensive care all the way down to kids who are just in the hospital for a short amount of time."

"We would follow kids throughout their hospital stay, no matter what unit they were on to really build relationships and rapport with them, especially for our long-term patients and patients who are more critically ill," Bradford said. "It was really great to be able to bring normalcy into an environment that is absolutely not normal and bring comfort and joy into experiences that are really physically painful, mentally exhausting and definitely super emotional."

Life after retirement

After a long and illustrious career, both Chevy and Leica are looking forward to chilling and relaxing during their retirement, their handlers said. Leica officially retired in Dec. 2024 while Chevy's retired this month.

"I'm really looking forward to giving her a lot of one-on-one time," Birkett said.

Birkett shared that though Leica has a sassy personality and loves being the center of attention she's looking forward "to almost going back to when we first met, (and) spending time with her and making her last however many years as comfortable and fun as she wants it to be."

Leica's favorite things include spending time with family, long walks, playing with her favorite toy, squeaky balls, and lots of nap and cuddle time.

Chevy, too, hopes to do the same during retirement.

"He's at a point where, unfortunately, he's not able to keep the pace of going to work and engaging as much as he used to," Bradford said. "So, he's going to be getting lots of pets from people he loves the most, spending a lot of time in the backyard and taking a lot of naps."

Chevy's favorite things include belly rubs and booty scratches and showing off his favorite toy: stuffed animals.

"It's been a really great experience," Bradford said of Chevy's time at the hospital. "It's been really cool to see so many people come out and (say) Chevy was the one thing (they) remember from being in the hospital that I don't even remember encountering. For me, it was such a brief moment of my day (but) for them, it was something that really stood out."

"We've kind of been over this for almost nine years of working, but how massive impact has been incredible," she added.

However, Leica and Chevy will still be around to spread warmth and cheer with Leica planning to serve the health system as an ambassador, making visits for special events and fundraising activities, and Chevy hoping to visit his friends from time to time as an official ambassador.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hospital hosts retirement 'paw-ty' for dogs Leica and Chevy: Watch