Rescued dog helps patients at Nemours Children Hospital

Colonel, 75 pound bullmastiff, awarded cover model for 2016 calendar

ORLANDO, Fla. – The hospital can be a very scary place, especially for children. But at Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando, there's a new celebrity roaming the hallways bringing smiles to everyone he greets.

[PICS: See Colonel's calendar, rescue pictures ]

Colonel, a 75 pound bullmastiff, is the newest addition to the hospital's pet therapy group.

As soon as Colonel stepped into the the room Beau Corbett was seen smiling ear to ear.

"I was definitely not smiling before he came in" said Corbett.

Visiting each room, you can tell he is quite the fan favorite; spreading happiness and love to each little patient he meets.

Kristine Melo, the mother of 7-year-old patient Emma Melo couldn't stop smiling seeing the reaction her daughter had when Colonel entered their room.

"With Colonel and the other therapy dogs she just lights up and she comes to life and she's not so withdrawn and depressed and her smile and everything comes out with the dogs, its amazing" she said.

And although it's all happy tail wagging now, that wasn't the case almost a year ago for Colonel.

Jacqueline Randolph, the owner of Colonel explained his condition when she first saw him.

"He was a horrible mess" she said.

Along with being diagnosed with mange, he had complete hair loss,his eyes were crusted over, and was infested with fleas.

"They said if you cant rescue him, we will have to euthanize him because we have no one else. So I knew from that moment I was going to move heaven and earth to get him" said Randolph.

Fast forward a few months, Colonel is unrecognizable compared to a year ago. That same dog who was left for dead is now paying it forward; bringing the same love and support he once was given.

Colonel is also now gaining national attention as he was awarded to be the cover model for the American Bullmastiff 2016 Calendar.


About the Author:

Candace Campos joined the News 6 weather team in 2015.

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