Hospice care can be a challenging experience for everyone involved, but even more so when the patients are children. It is a struggle to not let fear consume each day. For the children, siblings, and parents, there is confusion about what is happening and why, and there is fear of what might come next.

In order to help ease the burden, Ida Zecco wrote Ella’s Gift, a children’s book about her pet and therapy dog, Ella.

Ida has worked in various hospice organizations for 30 years. She started her work as a volunteer in Boston during the AIDs crisis in the early ’80s. From there, she went on to work with children in pediatric oncology. She received her grief counseling from Northeastern University and interned for a time with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a pioneer in the studies of death and dying.

“After working with people from a clinical sense, there really need to be somebody there that was the liaison between a child who is dying and the family,” Ida explains.

Ida got a puppy named Ella six years ago. As Ella grew older, Ida noticed how she was with her grandchildren.

“I saw how she interacted with children and she was always gentle,” she said. “There was something about this dog that had an understanding of children.”

In order to get their credentials in pet therapy, Ida and Ella took part in a 30-week course through CCRI’s Pet Assisted Therapy program. The first part is a class on the theory of pet therapy, including the history, ethics, and legal topics. Following that, students work with their pets in the field to get acclimated to the environments they will work in. For example, a pet will have to develop confidence to walk in elevators, look both ways at the end of a corridor, and not pick up something that falls on the ground.

The final part of the program takes around six months. For the first 10 weeks, students participate with their pets at sites that already have pet therapy programs in place. Once completed, students develop their own pet therapy program and then spend 10 weeks implementing it at a site that does not have one.

The first part of the program is where the idea for a children’s book started.

“One of the things you had to write was either a book or write about a subject of pet advocacy,” said Ida. “For me, there was no contest. I was going to write a book.”

From there, Ella’s Gift was born. The book is about a therapy dog named Ella that provides sick children with comfort and compassion. Ida acknowledges the fear that surrounds this type of situation, but emphasizes the importance of love as the true triumphant.

“The dog is a conduit to a safe place for kids to begin the conversation and start their own healing,” says Ida.

Once the story had been completed, Ida had to decide between going through a publishing agency or self-publishing. By self-publishing, there is the risk of putting forward money without guarantee that there would be a return.

The decision was easy when she sent the book to AuthorHouse. The individual she spoke to told her that they believed she should go ahead with self-publishing. She told them her concerns, and after two weeks, AuthorHouse called back with an offer. Not only would they publish the book, Ida would have the freedom to choose her own illustrator. The person she spoke with told her that they had lost a child years ago, and wished that Ella’s Gift had been available.

“I found an angel,” Ida said.

Ida has never met James Lewis, the artist that illustrated the book. A British artist, Lewis had posted his résumé and portfolio on fiverr.com, a website for freelance artists to look for work. The pair went back and forth for a year until the illustrations were where they both wanted them.

“I wanted the book to have a softness to it,” said Ida. “He nailed it.”

Ella and Ida continue to volunteer across Rhode Island. They participate in the “Petty Pal” program at Hope Hospice and Hope Health, which gives patients the chance to interact with therapy dogs like Ella. They also work with The Windwalker Humane Coalition, a group established in 1995 with a mission for “the profession of pet assisted therapy to be integrated into health, rehabilitation, social services, and education at all levels.”

All families can take something beneficial away from the message of Ella’s Gift.

“And when there is so much love, there is a little bit of magic.”

Ella’s Gift can be purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and AuthorHouse. The case bound hardcover is $22.95, the perfect bound soft cover is $13.95, and the E-Book is $3.99.