CHICAGO — A new partnership has emerged between La Rabida Children’s Hospital and specially trained K9 units with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office to bring joy into the lives of young patients.
For the last month or so, Zilly and Ella have stopped by the hospital every Tuesday to spend some time with children. Zilly and Ella are deputies of the four-legged variety. They spend about two hours at the hospital’s outpatient clinic and are scheduled to continue their visits through at least the rest of 2022.
Ella is named in honor of Chicago Police Department officer Ella French who was killed in the line of duty last year. French actually worked at the sheriff’s department prior to joining CPD.
On Tuesday Sheriff Tom Dart will stopped by the hospital to highlight the partnership and introduce the two therapy dog deputies. See the entire press conference and learn more about the two dogs in the video above.
Zilly and Ella also make appearances at other area hospitals in the course of their duties.