Publish date: 26 August 2025

This National Dog Day the Trust is celebrating our fantastic Pets As Therapy (PAT) dogs 🐾

Dog day post.pngPAT dogs and their volunteers visit places such as hospitals, hospices, schools and care homes.

Here at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals we currently have eleven PAT dogs who go around the hospital to visit wards and put a smile on patients faces.

They range in breed and size from Trixie, our smallest, a Chihuahua and Yorkshire Terrier mix, and our biggest dog Betty, a Bernese Mountain dog.

Our other PAT dogs are:

🐾 Thelma
🐾 Walter
🐾 Effie
🐾 Winnie
🐾 Summer
🐾 Buddy
🐾 Frankie
🐾 Harper
🐾 Myka

You may also have seen some of our PAT dogs on our social media as they shared their top tips for keeping well.

Ben Cross, from our Voluntary Services team, said: "Our PAT dogs provide an important service to the Trust. When visiting patients and colleagues, they bring a smile to their face and a sense of comfort.

"We are incredibly grateful to the PAT dogs and volunteers who take time out of their week to spend it with us".

To request a PAT dog visit to a patient please email bfwh.volunteers@nhs.net with the patient's name/ward/bed. You can also request a visit for the ward as whole by emailing the ward number.