At
just two years old, Bert the Rottie was certified as aDelta Pet Partner
and for the next seven years helped to bring joy and comfort into the
lives of patients at hospitals where he worked. His first “job”
was at Sherman Hospital in Elgin, IL, where his handler worked as a speech
language pathologist.
After a move to Arizona, with his owner, Bert went to work at Plaza Healthcare
in Scottsdale and quickly became an integral part of the rehabilitation
team. Whether helping to motivate patients to complete therapies, serving
as a teaching tool for individuals learning to re-master motor skills
or just brightening the day of someone who was down, Bert was a tireless
worker – asking for only a cookie and a belly rub as his reward.
In addition to his work in hospitals, Bert also helped educate folks that
Rotties did not deserve the bad reputation given to them. For dozens of
people, Bert helped show them that a 130 lb. Rottweiler could be gentle
and loving in any setting.
Although limited by a cancer diagnosis in October 2007, Bert made several
more visits to the hospital, helping to bring his patients one more bit
of happiness and a few steps closer to good health. Not satisfied with
helping just humans, Bert also part-time big brother to more than two-dozen
dogs and cats that came to our home in need of foster care following an
injury or illness.
In his life Bert helped bring light and a little more appreciation of
Rotties into the lives of several hundred patients, dozens of co-workers
and nearly everyone he met in his 9 ½ years on this earth. Recognized
for his good works, Bert earned the "Miracles of Love" award
presented by the Phoenix-based Animals Benefit Club Delta Pet Partners,
in 2004 and again in 2005.
When not working, Bert loved visits to the dog park where he could just
be a dog and summertime visits to the ice cream shop for a fat-free treat
with dog bones crushed up in it.
Bert passed away, after a short battle with cancer, on November 30, 2007.
He was a very good boy and will be greatly missed by his owners Michelle
La Pietra, Keith Winn and his little sister kitty, Bunker.
