Mr. McGee, the 15-year-old Papillon who served as Hospice of the Piedmont’s first therapy dog, died unexpectedly in June from congestive heart failure.
Over the past decade, McGee became a familiar presence to patients, families, and staff across our service area. He was a beloved volunteer and a quiet comfort to hundreds of people navigating some of life’s most difficult moments.
A Dog with a Mission
McGee’s journey with Hospice of the Piedmont began nearly ten years ago. After completing his therapy dog certification, his handler, Sally, approached our Volunteer Services team with a question: Had a therapy dog ever visited hospice patients?
The answer was no, until McGee. Together, Sally and our staff helped develop the guidelines for what would become our therapy dog program.
“He was the first hospice therapy dog,” Sally said. “We sat down and wrote up the guidelines for being a therapy dog at Hospice of the Piedmont.”
He Just Knew
McGee had a gift for sensing when he was needed most.
Sally recalls visiting a patient on the day she was dying. Her family asked Sally to place McGee in the bed.
“He just crawled up alongside her and put his head on her shoulder and just lay there the whole time we were there,” Sally said.
On another occasion at the Center for Acute Hospice Care, McGee refused his usual stop at the nurses’ station. Instead, he led Sally directly to the family room, where a woman sat alone and crying.
“I knocked on the door and said, ‘I don’t want to disturb you, but I’ve got a therapy dog here,’” Sally said. “She said, ‘Bring him in.’ He went straight to her. He just leaned up against her while she cried for the next 15 or 20 minutes. I guess her mother was dying. He knew. He just knew. That’s all I can tell you.”
Personality and Joy
For all his sensitivity, McGee had a lighter side, too. He was known to appear in costume, dressed as a pumpkin for Halloween or an elf for Christmas.
“He always let me dress him up,” Sally said. “He didn’t care. He would make people laugh with his costumes. No problem.”
He also loved his work. On the mornings he knew it was time to visit patients, he made his excitement known.
“When I took out his therapy vest, he would go right to the front door and wait,” Sally said. “He knew that we were going. He just loved it.”
A Lasting Legacy
McGee’s presence reached far beyond the patients he comforted. Staff looked forward to seeing him. Families remembered his visits.
“Papillons are very smart dogs,” Sally said. “But he had a special gentleness and kindness. He was independent. But very, very kind. Never once did I ever have a dog like him. He was just a special little guy.”
Today, eight certified therapy dogs visit with Hospice of the Piedmont patients, carrying forward the work McGee helped start. His legacy lives on, not only in the memories he created but in every therapy dog who now follows in his paw prints.
Thank you, McGee.
