It is with great sadness that we share with our Weiss Pediatric Care families that Elliot, our kind, compassionate, sensitive, therapy dog, died on Tuesday evening. Elliot was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma a few weeks ago and it overwhelmed him quickly.
Elliot has been a vital member of the Weiss Pediatric Care team, as our official greeter and calmer of anxious children. He had the magical ability to connect with our patients with special health care needs, including those with social and communication disorders, which allowed us, in turn to connect with them too.
We are heartbroken.
Today is a new day at Weiss Pediatric Care as we move forward providing the compassionate, state-of-the-art care that we are known for without our sweet Elliot.
As difficult as it is for us to talk about the death of our dear friend and teammate, we know it may be doubly hard for parents to have the conversation with their children. For those who would like help with the words, we have developmentally appropriate information available in our office, along with a bibliography of children’s books that serve as wonderful discussion starters and sources of comfort too. You may also want to check out our blog, What Does Dead Mean? for tips for talking to children about the death of a pet written by Guest Blogger, Ethan Weiss, LCSW, Child & Adolescent Therapist.
For those who would like to help us celebrate Elliot’s life and great work, we ask that you send or bring us pictures of Elliot and stories about him that we will compile into a memory book for our office.
Elliot was a Goldendoodle – part Golden Retriever and part Poodle. He fell victim to one of the most common cancers to strike Golden Retrievers. Weiss Pediatric Care has made a donation in his memory to The Morris Animal Foundation, Golden Retriever Lifetime Study. It is the most extensive study ever undertaken in veterinary medicine aimed at identifying risk factors for cancer and other diseases in dogs. Please consider joining us in supporting canine cancer research.