Community Pharmacist Registers Dog as Emotional Support Animal to Soothe Needle-Phobic Patients

When patients come in for a COVID-19 vaccine at Willey Pharmacy in Bear, Delaware, Brandy Willey, PharmD, may ask, “Do you want the dog?”

If the answer is yes, Willey’s Yorkshire Terrier–Bichon Frisé mix, Charlie, runs in and hops up on the patient’s lap. While the patient gets lost in the little dog’s affection, Willey administers the vaccine, often completely undetected.

“I hear it all the time, ‘I didn't even feel it. Are you sure you gave it to me?’” Willey said.

Charlie’s career as an emotional support animal (ESA) started before there were COVID-19 vaccines when Willey began bringing him to the store from time to time. She found that some of her needle-phobic patients enjoyed holding the dog on their lap while they received a flu shot or shingles vaccine. So, Willey decided to get her dog officially certified as the pharmacy’s resident ESA.

“He’s a natural. Charlie knows how to read a room. He can read your energy. He knows if you want him on you, or if you don’t want him on you. He’s a natural support animal,” Willey said.

During the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Charlie was working steadily. At the peak of demand for vaccinations, when Willey pharmacists were administering up to 120 shots a day in the store, Charlie was on duty full time. These days, patients can call to request him when they book their appointment.

Since Willey has begun administering pediatric COVID-19 vaccines, Charlie has been a boon.

Willey recalls one young patient who was especially terrified of getting a shot. The pharmacist could see the fear in the boy’s eyes as he sat in the waiting area with his mother before his appointment. Willey asked if he wanted to play with the dog, and he said yes. Charlie jumped onto the boy’s lap, and the boy immediately began laughing and smiling. All the fear seemed to drain out of his body.

Willey decided that rather than take the young patient back to the vaccination room, she’d get the job done right there while he was so relaxed.

“After I verified [the young patient’s] information with his mom, I gave him the shot right there with the dog on his lap. It was perfect,” Willey recalled.

On another day, a frightened young patient was disappointed to see that Charlie was not on duty that day. Willey told the patient and his mother that if they could wait 10 minutes, Charlie could come in. “My husband brought him right over,” Willey said.

Willey Pharmacy’s ESA has made the rounds at group homes for adults with intellectual disabilities and calms the nerves of many adult patients who come into the pharmacy too. Local pediatricians, some of whom have heard about Charlie from their patients, also refer their patients to Willey.

Charlie is just one of the tools in Willey’s toolkit that helps break down barriers between reluctant patients and the vaccines they need. In the last 18 months, the pharmacy has administered more than 14,000 vaccines.

“It’s about building trust with people, and there are many different ways to do that. But if you can gain their trust, you can gently educate them, and then they’ll come around. I see it all the time,” Willey explained.

—Sonya Collins
August 2022

Resources to help Discuss the Importance of COVID-19 Vaccination and Know What Drives Vaccine Confidence are available at APhA’s Vaccine Confident microsite.