My name is Theo, a Pet Therapy King Charles Terrier, and I am the youngest volunteer at Regional Hospice.  I volunteer on Wednesday in the late morning, but you might not notice me.  I don’t talk very much; in fact, I don’t talk at all. I don’t need to and the people I visit don’t mind. They just seem happy to have a visitor.  I have been a volunteer for six years. I love my job which is visiting beautiful people in the 12 different rooms. When I enter, they are usually laying or sitting up in bed. Sometimes they talk and sometimes they can’t. If they can talk, they say things like “Ooo” and “Aah” and “You are adorable”. Sometimes they say: “Come sit” and “You made my day.”  Sometimes they stretch their arms to reach out for me. They let me sit on their bed. It’s nice to sit on their bed and be close. That usually brings a smile to their face – like they found an old treasure hidden in a memory box.  Making the best of every day means sharing a ray of sunshine with people who are very ill and will soon leave this world to go to their next journey. On their next journey, I hope they are surrounded by loving, happy, lively souls who welcome them with a spirited leap into their arms.  Dogs are the best companions you could ever wish for, and the guardian angels of a place called Heaven.  (Theo was assisted in writing his story by Joann Ferrigno.)