A miniature horse from Waimea that visits patients at Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital could become the nonprofit Pet Partners’ “Pet of the Year.”
Darby is a 16-year-old gelding and certified therapy pet owned by Lynn Scully, marketing and communications manager at QNHCH.
“He lives with three really big horses and another little mini-horse,” Scully told the Tribune-Herald late last week. “He’s the only mini-horse who’s doing hospital visits with Pet Partners in the state of Hawaii — and he’s the first pet from Hawaii ever nominated for this campaign, which is why we’re getting so excited about it.
“There’s some state pride here. We’d like to do a good showing for Hawaii.”
Pet Partners’ is a Washington state-based organization with a mission to improve human health and well-being through the human-animal bond, and Pet of the Year is chosen strictly on a fundraising basis.
As of Monday, he ranked No. 1 among 100 animals — mostly dogs, but also cats, a donkey, a pig, a llama and a rat — with $7,550 raised, which is 75.5% of the team goal of $10,000 in donations.
“It is a fundraiser, but the most important thing is it’s raising awareness about pet therapy teams and the importance of the support and really, love that they provide in a variety of settings,” Scully said. “He was nominated by Pet Partners, I think, probably because they have not had anybody from Hawaii before.
“And he’s a little unusual because he’s an equine. Most of the teams are dogs. All of the teams are fabulous, obviously. They’re tested to be fabulous. They’re really great animals. We would never say one pet is better than another pet.”
The donation deadline is 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time on March 18, with the winner announced the following day.
“This is a grassroots effort, and it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” she said, noting that a large donation for another of the pet-testants could tip the scale elsewhere.
To vote for Darby and donate to Pet Partners, visit https://tinyurl.com/2surpee6.
Scully said that miniature horses are “generally smaller than ponies” and Darby “is small enough to fit inside my Honda Fit.”
Scully, who has had other therapy pets, said Queen’s uses Pet Partners-certified animals exclusively, “because they are gold standard.”
“All the Pet Partners therapy pets have to be of a really good, solid, calm temperament. And they have to be very reliable,” she said. “Nothing fazes (Darby), which is very important. In a hospital, there’s machinery, there’s stuff going up and down the hallways making all sorts of noises, beeping and all that stuff. And you have to know that your pet is not going to be bothered by that.
“It’s a pretty extensive pet training and evaluation program. And there’s recertification and continuing education. And they’re always looking for new people to register with their pet to become part of a pet therapy team.”
Like most pets, Darby has a favorite snack.
“He loves Pumpkin Spice Cheerios. He also loves Altoids mints,” Scully said. “He’s trained, so he’s food-motivated. So, those and the Pumpkin Spice Cheerios make excellent training treats for him.”
In addition to being calm, Darby also is independent, Scully said.
“He doesn’t mind being taken away from the ranch,” she said. “I’ve had horses that would lose their minds if you separate them from the herd. But in a way, his independence helps.”
Darby’s bestie on the ranch, Scully said, is a “full-size mustang.”
“They come in together for lunch,” she said. “And if it’s cold and rainy, Darby practically gets under the mustang. But he likes to hang with people just as much as with the other horses.”
No surprise, perhaps, but Darby is just as big a hit with adults as children.
“If the staff knows he’s here, a lot of them are very excited. They come out of their clinics and offices,” Scully said. “He has some girlfriends that he visits every time. The staff love him as much as the patients. It’s like he’s got his own fan club.”
And while a therapy pet is considered a working animal, Scully said Darby loves his work.
“He’ll actually walk along with people in a wheelchair,” she said. “That happened on Valentine’s Day. A gentleman was being wheeled out, and Darby decided ‘this gentleman needs my help’ and just walked along with him, right next to the wheelchair. He and the pet therapy dogs that visit on Wednesday, they delivered valentines.
“It’s a simple thing but it makes a difference.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.