Dogtor Loki Is A Therapy Dog Delivering 'Healthcare Hero Kits' To Nurses

April 17, 2020

Meet Loki, the therapy Rottweiler who's delivering healing kits to Maryland nurses and patients.

Credit: Caroline Benzel

Dogtor Loki is a therapy dog at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. The 2-year-old Rottweiler visits patients multiple days a week.

Loki's owner, Caroline Benzel, is a second-year medical student at the University.

"I got accepted into medical school around the same time I got her," Caroline said. She told Fox 17 she wanted a therapy dog after seeing the positive effect one had on her sick grandfather.

"My grandfather was sick and I lived with him in his hospital room for a month," Caroline explained. "When he would see this dog, he would light up."

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Loki and Caroline would spend three days a week visiting patients and lifting spirits at the hospital.

Credit: Caroline Benzel

"I got pulled from school and the front lines," Caroline said. "I was used to being at the hospital multiple days a week with Loki."

She says it was after that, they started face timing with patients and nurses.

"Everyone was wearing PPE 24/7 and because of that, they were getting rashes and irritation from wearing masks," Caroline said, explaining that she felt inspired to help alleviate some of that pain with care packages that she dubbed "hero healing kits."

Credit: Caroline Benzel

She started collecting items that were easy to attain like hand lotion, Gold Bond, chewing gum, chapstick, and tea.

She asked for donations via an Amazon Wishlist.

"So far we have raised over 1,400 total kits. We are blown away by the kindness and generosity of people" Caroline wrote on Loki's Facebook page.

Credit: Caroline Benzel

Caroline revealed that their story has inspired other therapy dogs and their owners across the country to do the same for their hospitals.

"THIS was was the dream, and it is coming to fruition: not only to help frontline workers/first responders, but to inspire others to do the same in their counties and states for their respective hospitals," she wrote. "Thank you again for all the love and support shown through all of this. We wanted to show our people keeping us safe some love, and because of you, we have been able to do that."