by Carla Caruso

You might use your Adelaide Park Lands for time out from daily stressors. But the city’s precious open, green spaces are especially important for Nick Blain and his cancer therapy dogs, Arlo and Nala.

After Nick, 63, beat cancer twice - with Arlo helping him as a therapy dog through the recovery - he was determined to give back. 

Now Nick helps put smiles on the faces of other patients and staff at hospital wards around Adelaide via visits with Arlo, 4, plus seven-month-old pup Nala. 

Therapy dogs are trained to provide affection, comfort, and support to people, often in settings such as hospitals and retirement homes. But rest stops during visits are much needed for these Moodles. 

“They’re only little dogs and they do pick up on things,” says Nick, now a community ambassador for The Hospital Research Foundation Group. “Dogs do have feelings too. So, I’ve got to find a grass area where I can take them for a 10-minute break, and then, I’ll go back up on another floor. It’s not just go-go otherwise dogs do become funny.”

Nick adds: “It’s quite confronting at times when you see a patient, with tubes hanging out of them, not doing well. Then their eye opens or their arm moves, and you go, ‘Wow, they haven’t moved in a few weeks.’ It’s very rewarding.”

Previously, Nick worked as a sprinkler fitter at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. After undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy for tongue and throat cancer, he needed an operation for a work-related arm injury. The psychological effect of “operation after operation” led to him also having PTSD. 

Nick uses Arlo as his own assistance dog, as well as Arlo providing therapy to others and aiding Nick’s wife, Vanessa, who has a heart condition, atrial fibrillation. 

“If my wife starts breathing funny [while asleep], he’ll jump on her and wake her up,” Nick says. “[Her condition means that] the heart runs fast, and it can give you a massive heart attack in your sleep.”

Nala was recently brought in to double the puppy love. Looking after the pair requires much attention-to-detail for Nick, who’s five years in remission.

“[As a former] cancer patient, I don’t want the dogs contaminating other people while they’re going through the process… You have to be careful because of infection control. 

“So, I wash the dogs [before visiting], I keep them off the ground if I’m going in [particular] areas. I even wipe hand cleaner on their paws when they go through the wards.

“They’re a hypoallergenic sort of dog [too]. They don’t drop fur, which makes them easier for the hospital.”

It’s also why Nick favours taking the canines to your Park Lands for time out, with favourite spots including the Veale Gardens in Park 21, Elder Park in Park 26, and along the River Torrens / Karrawirra Parri.

“I’m always keeping them around the city as I find it’s much cleaner than a lot of the other parks in other areas,” Nick says. 

“I don’t take them to dog parks [either]. I keep them away from other dogs [and] I feed them ‘people food’, not dog food. You don’t want the bad breath or doggy smell. The worst thing is dog smell in a hospital.”

The father-of-two says the small size of the pooches is also helpful, though in the past, he was a big dog fan. “When you’re in a ward, you’ve got to be able to pick up the dog quick, in case they bring a patient through or anything like that.”

The ‘furry-fighters’ have more than 7,000 fans on Instagram. And plenty of celebrities have posed for selfies with them, including Premier Peter Malinauskas, former Senator Nick Xenophon, tennis star Novak Djokovic, Seven weatherman Sam Mac, and media personality Andrew ‘Cosi’ Costello. 

As well as spreading joy, Nick and his pooches raise funds for cancer research via The Hospital Research Foundation.