SAN ANTONIO -- Methodist Children's Hospital uses the only facility dogs in Central and South Texas. Just within Hazel's first year as the facility dog she has made a huge impact. Hazel's demand just got too much for her to handle alone. So for her third birthday she's getting a second 4-legged, furry co-worker to get help her out.

"She initially trained as a service animal and then did six months extra at children's hospitals in Atlanta, learning the sights and sounds of children's hospitals such as automatic doors, elevators, IV pulls and fire alarms," says Caitlin Pearce with Methodist Children's Hospital. "All the things that would normally spook a dog doesn't phase her at all."

"She is tasked with laying on kids. providing therapeutic pressure during scary procedures and riding on the stretcher with kids to radiology or surgery, and the demand for Hazel visits just got enormous," Pearce continued. 

But using Hazel really allows the hospital to provide special patient care.

"We use her for very special circumstances such as kids that are anxious, kids that are having trouble walking and getting out of bed," says Pearce. "In those instances sometimes she's the only thing that motivates them to get up, to take their medicine, to sit still during a procedure where it's important for them to sit still."

It's the job of the dogs to help patients. For kids, it's pure joy. 

"They bring the dogs around to her room, and they put them on top of her bed and she loves it," said Nancy Ruiz, the grandmother of a girl named Nattalie, a cancer patient. 

It gives Nattalie a small feeling of being back home, maybe even a little bit better.

"She has three chihuahuas that she does not like because they are too small. She prefers a big dog," Nattalie said. 

Now Nattalie has two big dogs to play with and provide comfort in her big fight.