Murphy, the eight-year-old dog, among volunteers recognized at flag raising ceremony

THUNDER BAY -- An eight-year-old Newfoundland dog, Murphy, has been volunteering in schools, hospitals and seniors’ facilities for more than four years.

“He loves to go into the facilities. He’s nice and big so he’ll just put his head on people’s beds and the children, of course because of his size, love to read to Murphy,” said Gail Bailey, coordinator and evaluator for St. John Ambulance’s dog therapy program.

Murphy was one of several volunteers on hand Monday morning at city hall for the kickoff of National Volunteer Week, which included a flag raising. The week recognizes the work of volunteers in the city.

Bailey said the program has 40 dog handler dogs from Kenora to Marathon and the animals bring happiness to the facilities they visit.

“They ease the stress. They’ve been known to calm blood pressure. People are not able to have their own animals in the facilities and if we can take our dogs in and ease the stress of the people, it’s just so rewarding for us,” she said.

Murphy also visits patients at Hogarth-Riverview Manor, where Maria Bilyk volunteers with palliative care patients. He visits one of her clients regularly.

Bilyk has been volunteering with St. Joseph’s Care Group for 67 years and was part of the auxiliary organization started at Pioneer Ridge 20 years ago.

She also volunteers at the information desk at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

“I love it. I love every day of it,” she said of her volunteer efforts.

“I get up every morning. I have to dress and get ready to go and do something, something meaningful…the satisfaction that you get, the feel that you get that you’re helping someone,” Bilyk said.

More than half of the city’s population volunteers, which is higher than the provincial average of 46 per cent and Thunder Bay Association of Volunteer Administrators Tessa Murray said there is so much volunteering in the city, it would be a massive undertaking to try to calculate all the hours put in.

“We actually have one of the highest volunteer rates in the country with more than half our population volunteering,” Murray said.

“We just want to say thank you to everyone in the city who do things from volunteering for hockey or homes for the aged, or at their kids’ schools.”