THERAPY DOGS HELP HOSPITAL PATIENTS

Voluntary interactive sessions relieve stress, offer emotional comfort

Biubiu would probably still be a skeletal stray dog with a tangled coat were it not for the help she received from Jin Pei, a retired book editor in Shanghai.

Jin encountered Biubiu, a mixed breed with the appearance of a small schnauzer, on a wintry night in 2015 when the dog dashed out from an alleyway as Jin was walking her own canine.

"She walked fast when we walked fast, and slowed down when we did. She followed us for a long way, and I sensed she was eager to find herself a home," Jin said.