‘Dayo’ the therapy dog is semi-finalist for American Humane Award

SAN FRANCISCO ( KRON ) — Dayo, a lovable and gentle 9-year-old Rhodesian ridgeback, visited the KRON4 studio on Friday. Dayo is a therapy dog and is a regular at the George Mark Children’s House in San Leandro, a pediatric palliative care center.

Dayo’s visits to the center “bring smiles and comfort to patients, families, nurses, and staff,” according to the Hero Dog Awards website, where Dayo is a semi-finalist. Dayo also lends comfort and support to Camp Erin, a bereavement camp where he “helps children cope with loss,” and extends friendship to adults with disabilities.”

Additionally, Dayo extends friendship and kisses to adults with disabilities at Futures Explored and Go Group and enjoys having children read to him at Pleasanton Library’s Paws to Read program during the school year. He also visits patients at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Kaiser Permanente, including those in radiation, oncology and urgent care.

Before becoming a therapy dog, Dayo was a companion dog to a cheetah named “Pancake” at the Wildlife Safari in Winston, OR.

Dayo dropped by the KRON4 studios along with his puppy pal Raina and his handler Liz Stewart. As you can see from the video above, Dayo is quite the gentle giant and charmed KRON4 anchors James Fletcher and Stephanie Lin with his calm presence.

If you’d like to vote for Dayo, visit the American Humane Hero Dog Awards . Dayo is one of five finalists and if you want to support him, you can vote once a day until Oct. 9. The winner will be announced on Oct. 15.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.