General News
12 December, 2025
Dogs bring joy to cancer patients
PATIENTS undergoing treatment at the South West Regional Cancer Centre regularly enjoy a special visit from two four-legged friends.
Therapy dogs ‘Penny’ and ‘Ripley’ spend an hour each fortnight making their way through wards at the centre, spreading joy and some welcome relief to patients.
“Our therapy dogs are really just that; they provide therapy in non-medical forms which is just so good for those undergoing cancer treatment,” Sue Bell from Pentuckylou Paws said.
“I’m sure the dogs enjoy the visits just as much as the patients do; it’s so rewarding to see the joy on people’s faces when the dogs enter a room.
“The dogs are all very well trained and can also sense when someone would prefer to be left alone. We alternate our fortnightly visits between Tuesdays and Wednesdays so that we can see as many people as possible.”
The cancer centre visits are currently being funded by the Terang Lions Club and according to members Wayne Saunders and Simon Delaney, the club is proud to be associated.
“The dogs bring a lot of joy to patients and truly are a great distraction during treatment sessions,” Wayne said.
“Originally our club wanted to support a myeloma nurse but when that wasn’t possible we thought this (therapy dog visits) would also be a wonderful project to support.
“We are lucky to have a facility like this cancer centre here in Warrnambool and unfortunately we all have some connection to it, whether we know someone who has been a patient there or have been a patient ourselves.”
Peter’s Project community coordinator Tania Douglas said the centre was extremely grateful to both Pentuckylou Paws and the Lions club for their support.
“The dogs are just wonderful, it’s lovely to see people’s faces light up when they arrive,” Tania said.
“And we’re very grateful to the Lions Club of Terang for sponsoring these visits for 12 months.”
