Dog helps patients at a Tulsa Clinic

Tulsa - It may seem strange to go to a doctors office and see a dog walking the halls, but that's what you see when you visit a Tulsa audiologist.

We went to check it out and we found that dog is making a difference in more ways than you can imagine.

At Dr. Jacque Scholl's office, patients seem to love visiting with Katie, an aging Collie with a heart of gold.

"I'm always coming to the team with lots of unique things. There first reaction was, 'a dog? in a clinic?'" Scholl said.

But she won the team over and soon after a Collie named Katie was introduced at the clinic. A young patient named Truman Hedrick took an instant like to her.

Truman was diagnosed with cancer at age 9.
 

"I really never heard of cancer and didn't know what it was," Truman said.

Unfortunately he would soon find out. Cancer left Truman with hearing loss and an amputated leg.

 "It's been really hard. We've had a lot of people who have helped us along the way but emotionally and physically what he's had to go through and what our family has had to go through has been really hard," said Truman's mother Kim Hedrick.

Katie, Dr. Scholl's Collie, makes doctor visits tolerable, even enjoyable.

"It seems like animals can understand more than humans do," Truman said.

Katie may understand more of what Truman is going through than any of us can imagine.

If you look at Katie closely, you see that just like Truman, she too has lost a leg.

Truman and Katie have developed a special bond.

"She is awesome," Truman said.

Dr. Scholl says all of this almost didn't happen. She went to the shelter looking for different dog, but that one didn't work out.

"They said, 'You know. We have another dog in the shelter that has a great disposition, but she only has three legs.' I went 'That's perfect,'" Dr. Scholl said.

Turns out Katie really was just what the doctor ordered.

"They comfort more and are somewhat more understanding," Truman said.

"She loves everyone the same whether they are in a wheelchair or they have hearing aides. She doesn't make judgments. So she has been a big asset to the clinic," Dr. Scholl said.