Meet Loki, the one and only “Dogtor” who is helping healthcare workers with happiness and doggy care packages – all without a degree in medicine. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, Loki the Rotty and her owner, Caroline Benzel, regularly visited Baltimore’s University of Maryland School of Medicine to cheer up residents weekly. However, when the pandemic hit, Benzel, a 2nd-year medical student at the time, had to be pulled out of school and off the hospital frontlines.
Despite this, Benzel still wanted to help her community. She and Loki began using FaceTime to offer virtual comfort to hospital staff. However, after noticing the physical toll that medical protective gear was taking on healthcare workers, they started a social media campaign to ask for donations to make “hero healing kits.”
These kits include hydrating skin lotion, tea boxes, chapstick, moisturizer, gum, and baby powder for healthcare workers. Within weeks, Benzel and Loki had raised thousands of dollars and collected hundreds of donations through their Amazon Wishlist. They have since raised over 1,400 kits, and the donations keep coming in.
Benzel hopes their efforts will inspire others to do the same in their communities. Community members have already contacted her about launching the “hero healing kit” in their cities. Benzel has distributed care packages to four different hospitals and plans to deliver more in the coming weeks.
Source dogtor.loki via Instagram