Robin's Nest from American Humane - Dayo’s Journey: From Cheetah Companion to Hero Therapy Dog

Episode Date: March 17, 2025

In this heartwarming episode of Robin’s Nest, Dr. Robin Ganzert welcomes Liz Stewart and her extraordinary therapy dog, Dayo. Dayo, whose name means “Joy Arrives,” has truly lived up to his name—bringing comfort, hope, and healing to children and families in need.From visiting pediatric palliative care patients at George Mark Children’s House to helping children process grief at Camp Erin, Dayo’s presence brings a sense of peace and love to those facing life’s toughest challenges.Join us as Liz shares the remarkable story of Dayo’s transformation from a cheetah’s best friend to a certified therapy dog, and the incredible ways he continues to change lives. Plus, we celebrate their well-deserved recognition as finalists in the 14th Annual Hero Dog Awards!Tune in to Robin’s Nest for an episode filled with resilience, compassion, and the undeniable magic of the human-animal bond.

Welcome to Robin's Nest. Many of us feel a deep bond with animals, from the pets we cherish at home to the endangered species in nature. Join us for lively, informative conversations where together we will build a more humane world. Today I'm thrilled to introduce an inspiring guest, Liz Stewart, and her incredible therapy dog, Dayo. Liz is a full-time volunteer therapy dog handler from Dublin, California, who alongside Dayo has touched countless lives through compassion and service. Dayo's journey is nothing short of remarkable. With his special gift for connecting with people in need, Dayo brings joy and comfort to children and families in hospitals,

libraries, bereavement camps, and pediatric care centers. I can't wait for Liz to share the incredible story of her partnership with Dayo and the lives they've changed along the way. Liz, welcome to Robin's Nest. Hi, thank you for having us. We're happy to be here. Oh, we're so thrilled to have you. And I know this is a, this is an incredible story and the journey that you've been on with Dayo and Dayo's initial journey is something that all animal lovers I think will be

fascinating to hear and look, hi Dayo, you hear your name, don't you? Yes, you do. You're in studio with us today. You're looking up at your mom and you got lots of stories to tell. Your mom's going to tell your story. Yes. I love it. Liz, you know, Dayo is a very special dog.

And you know that. And there's many members of many different communities who know that. But please tell us, how did Dale get his start? Well, when I got him on Martin Luther King's birthday is when he arrived at our house. And I just immediately saw his disposition, his attentiveness, and engagement. He makes such great eye contact and he knows exactly what everyone needs that we visit. Yes, yes. Well, he does, and he's looked at eye contact for you and me.

When he first came in, he's like, well, everything's okay. I'm like, we're all good. We're in the nest. It's all good. But he started out his life as a companion to a cheetah. And most people wonder, did that happen in the United States? What is happening with that? And it did.

So tell us a little bit about Dayo's first start because he had a very special best friend when he started out, right? Yes. So he was a companion dog for Pancake, the cheetah. So they were born on the exact same day, February 28th, and they were together since they were six weeks old. Unfortunately, Pancake had passed away and just shy of their third birthday.

And that's when he was rehomed. He had to be removed from the Safari Park because he kept looking for Pancake. I felt as if she was kind of his support animal too. She was actually the one that was always looking for Dayo if he went somewhere else, but then when she passed away, he was looking for her. So I know, because we work a lot in the zoological space, that dogs are great companions for cheetahs and other animals in zoos and aquariums.

People would say, well, how could that be? But if they are born and raised together, they can become best friends. In this case, Dayo was Pancake's best friend and vice versa. Yes. Yes. At the Wildlife Safari Park in Winston, Oregon is where they were. And they had seen a ridgeback cheetah pair at the San Diego Zoo. And Dayo's lead keeper saw that

and she wanted a ridgeback for Pancake. How incredible. And that's how Dayo entered their life. And then of course, when Pancake unfortunately passed, Dayo needed a new home. I know many of our listeners in Robin's Nest are gonna wanna make sure they understand that we're saying the name Dayo.

Can you share with everyone what does Dayo mean? Yes, so they named him at the Safari Park Dayo, which means Joy Arrives. And it's an African name, right? Yes. And I love that because of course he was gonna be the cheetahetah's partner and I love that. So, Dayo is actually, just what we're thinking, D-A-Y-O. It's wonderful. Well, Liz, when you first

saw Dayo and understood that there was a home, a forever loving home needed, tell us what did you think when you met? I was shocked at his size for sure because he's one of the biggest rich bags that I ever saw. I was going to say he's massive and I don't think you can see this certainly in our podcast studio, but he is huge. He is so big, he has to go up to above your waist. He's massive, but he's so calm and beautiful and a great temperament, right?

He is, and I felt, am I gonna be the perfect home for him because he came from living in an enclosure with a cheetah? Is he gonna be happy? But he settled in nicely, and I tell everyone that the Rhodesian Ridgeback, they were bred to hunt lions, but he is a couch potato. So the kids that we visit laugh.

I bet they do. I bet they do. My goodness. But he is massive and he's beautiful. And of course we see his ridge, which they're famous for, the way the hair stands up on their back. The Rhodesian Ridgeback is a majestic, majestic breed of dog. And I love the fact that he had such an interesting life and then came to you at three years old. Is that right? So today, this Rhodesian Ridgeback, this majestic creature, has another job.

And please tell us a little bit about what Dayo does today. Well, we go to a number of facilities, and in particular, we spend a lot of time at George Martin Children's House. So it's a palliative care facility. And so we have respite care, end of life and palliative care as transitional care. And the families and the siblings that come there that meet him, they love to spend time with him if their sibling is there for end of life or cancer. We have a cancer respite program.

So he just really does provide that comfort and joy to those kids. And it kind of takes their minds off of something, you know, that if they're having a bad day, like at Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, we visit the cancer floor. And if they had a treatment that morning, and they get to spend time with Dayo that afternoon, and they really look forward to it and love it just sitting there petting him and asking all kinds of questions about, you know, Dayo's background when I show them his card, because I have a card with him and pancake on it, and they're like, oh, a cheetah? Is that real? His best friend was a cheetah, seriously? And it really is beautiful. So you talk about facilities. So basically, you're visiting with Dayo hospitals and end-of-life care facilities,

and you're bringing four legs and a wagging tail and those powerful eyes. He's looking at me right now and it's beautiful, Dayo. You're just looking like you're looking into my soul. It's really powerful. So you bring this incredible creature to these people who are really in need. Yes, we also visit Kaiser, the cancer floor as well. So they're getting their infusions and then Dayo gets to ask them, are you wanting to visit? Do you need a visit from Dayo? And usually I can tell right away when I see it in their eyes when they make eye contact with this guy. How did you know that you wanted to do this? Well, I started in 2008 with my

first ridgeback and a friend of mine that was already in the program, she said, Angel would be perfect. She was another Ridgeback like Dayo, and I started her, and then I carried on, and I had Angel, then Chloe, and then Dayo. And I think Dayo has that special touch. He really does. He just will go up to them and just nuzzle in or just lay his head on their lap.

And on Friday at Lucille Packard, he nuzzled his nose under the kid's leg because he knew that he couldn't kiss because their immune system is down Compromised and so he just nuzzled and lit him pet him and just stayed there until The child was ready to go back to their room. Oh my goodness Well, let's just back up and say that now for almost almost two decades You've been visiting these facilities, seeing very, very troubling

scenes, right, and with people who are in such need, and you made a personal decision to provide therapy dogs. Yes. I love it. I call it my full-time job. Yes. I'm a volunteer. I say, I'm a full-time volunteer.

And I love it. And you love it. Why? Tell me why. I think because, especially because of Dayo, when I bring them into the room and see their smiles, it makes my day. And sometimes I get that,

those teary-eyed, I get a little misty-eyed when one of the kids that I know that is in the package that everyone will see at the gala, he rests his muzzle on her chest, and she just pets him, and it just makes her day. And every time she comes to the house, she asks if Dayo is coming to see her.

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. Well share with me a couple of stories about the people that you and Dayo have touched as his being a certified therapy dog. Well one in particular that I love is her name was Molly. Molly. And she used to come to the house and visit us all the time. And our thing is to walk along Hummingbird Hill, go by the fountains that they have on the campus, or on the grounds, I should say.

And she would kick her feet underneath the water in the fountain. And Dayo would just sit next to her as she splashed the water in the fountain. And Dayo would just sit next to her as she splashed the water, and they loved to look at him when he's walking alongside. I think when they hear the clicking of his nails, it makes them laugh. And so she's one of them.

And then Charlie was a long time person that would come to, a long time patient that came to the house. And the house again is the hospital. The George Mark Children's House. Yes. And Charlie pets them with his feet. And he just loves that Dale will just sit there

and let him pet him with his feet. Oh my goodness. And then the siblings, they will come for, we have pumpkin day, and there's a family picnic day. And the siblings are, it's a long extended George-Mart family where they continue to come to the house even after their siblings have passed away. Oh my goodness.

And they'll come look for Dayo when they come to these events because they got to spend time with him and it meant a lot to them that he brought joy to them as they were going through a tough time, losing their sister or their brother. So you have to be, again, back to you for a minute, you have to be very special yourself,

seeing these children and knowing that many of them are at their end of life care stage. That's a lot to process. It's a lot of emotions. I know those of you that in Robin's Nest today have joined us. I encourage you to look at Dayo's Hero Dog Awards video. It's stunning, but I encourage you also to have a box of tissues, not just one, with you when you when you watch How do you hold up?

It can be tough some days because I consider George mark in my family. Yes, and I Think that day. Oh Just make he knows what they need in that connection And I feel like we are body language experts where we know what they need and I know what to ask when they're meeting, Dayo. And I feel like my job keeping them distracted is and focused on something that's bringing them joy. That kind of keeps me going too.

You're a giver of gifts, right? And you give the gifts of hope and love. And I also know that you bring them, and Dayo brings them unconditional love. He does. Look, he's like looking at us right now, he's like, I heard my name. And when those kids come and they say, Dale, and they run to him, you could just see him

excited to see them too. And he remembers, he remembers all of them. How about Camp Aaron? Because I know that that's a really important part of your work. It's a important part of your work. It's processing grief and loss and offering emotional support. Tell us a little bit about Camp Aaron. That is a very special place. Every year they invite all of our dogs to come from Valley Humane Society, comfort dogs. And I believe we have 10 dogs at least for that timeframe. And they have it designed where the camp, they have other activities, and the kids always look forward to the pet therapy dogs. And they'll come running to the area

because we're all sitting under this tree area and grass with our blankets out, and they love to come pet the dogs. And one time there was a dog that we had that had the name of their grandfather that had passed away. And that child spent the entire time with that dog. And you'll find that there'll be one kid that will just latch on, that will just want that dog.

And one child did lay with Dayo on his blanket, just lay down and just petting, and never left. And usually they'll go around to all the dogs to collect their cards, because we hand out their little trading cards. And she just wanted just to lay with Dayo. She's like, I just love Dayo. He just knows exactly what I need.

And I needed this today. Oh, that's so beautiful. So not only the house that you visit, which is part of the hospital system, the camp you visit, you bring a lot, a lot of joy. I wanna back up and use this as an educational time for our listeners, many of whom would love to do what you're doing and to give back to their local community and to support their local hospitals or families in need with a comfort dog.

Can you describe what training you and Dayo have had to be able to provide this volunteer service? Oh yes, a lot of people ask me that. It's very important. And that would be so awesome to have more dayos out there. I always tell them that it's perfect if they do basic obedience one and two classes and then also a canine good citizen. So I usually take them through a canine good citizen class and it's usually a five or six weeks and then after there's a test. And I tell everyone that those tests that they have to go through in order to pass CGC, the canine good citizens, is similar to the pet therapy exam.

Yes. Yes. So I tell them if you can pass that, then that calms you, because usually it's you as the handler that's nervous and not the dog. I love that, I love that. And then so once they pass that,

they can go to the next step. Yes, and then usually they're mentored with whatever organization they decide to go through. And with ours, we do two mentor visits where they will shadow Dayo and I at a facility with or without their dog. And the name of your organization? Ours is Valley Humane Society in Pleasanton. Wonderful. Want to give a big shout out to everyone there too, and their great work they do. Yes, Shoshana Reed is our lead contact. And so if anyone says, oh, I want

Dayo to come to my school if I'm visiting at Kaiser, one of the patients there said, oh, my gosh, I want Dayo to come to my school. Right, and then they contact Shoshana Reed. And she makes that happen. And she makes it happen. I think that's outstanding. So the good thing is, again, a couple

of the obedience training courses, the good citizen course, and then on to a therapy dog certified program based on where you're based and the one in your local community. So this is really wonderful because I'm sure that when people have heard your stories, they are inspired to volunteer themselves and they have that special dog in their life. You've your lined yourself with a very special breed as well. So why did you fall in love with Rhodesian Ridgebacks? Which by the way, you look at them and think,

oh my gosh, that's a big dog, right? So tell us why Rhodesian Ridgebacks for you. Well, my husband is from Rhodesia and his grandfather raised Ridgebacks. Oh my gosh, this is a multi-generational family commitment. Yes, so once we got the big yard and he said, okay, we need Ridgebacks. And then now I think I've had seven Ridgebacks

and I have five now, two have passed on that have been therapy dogs, but I have three current pet therapy dogs. So Dayo is my specialty for Lucille, Packard, and Kaiser. Yes. And then at George Martin Children's House, I take Dayo, Lucy, and Cecil. So, they have all their different days. So, I go there three times a week. Oh my goodness. How incredible. Well, you're a super volunteer and a super, super humane hero is what you are. So, this, I love the fact that your husband's grandfather bred these dogs right back in the day and had them.

And now you're carrying on this tradition. But even better than that, you are actually serving as an ambassador for this breed. Oh yes. Because you don't see too many Rhodesian Ridgebacks. Right, everyone asked me, he's like, oh my gosh, I didn't think Ridgebacks could do this.

And I told him, I didn't know either until I started with Angel, because usually there are golden, a lot of golden retrievers. Yes. And probably golden doodles. Yes. Yes. Yes. But you just see Dao and see him in action, there's a peace in him. And sometimes you sometimes you don't associate that with their ridgeback, you know? But I love it. I love that you're bringing another dimension to this beautiful, majestic breed. It's fantastic. Thank you. Yes, everyone said, I have a ridgeback.

They couldn't do this or they'll say, my dog is got so much energy. They can never do it. But I tell them it's not too late, because when they tell me the age, I tell them I started with Chloe when she was six and a half. But Dayo, I started him when he was three. So if they're a Dayo disposition, they can start at three years of age. I think that's amazing.

What does it mean to you and to Dayo to be recognized as our winning therapy dog in the 14th annual Hero Dog Awards. It's amazing. It means so much to us. And I love that it's highlighting what Dayo does and what I do. I always put everything on Dayo.

I never introduced myself. They're like, oh, by the way, what is your name? But it's so amazing just to see him in action, but not everyone gets to see that. And so by him being honored by American Humane, everyone else gets to see how amazing Dayo is. Yes, yes. And he visited at the Today Show. He's been quite famous, right?

Quite the following. Yes, we were so excited to go to the Today Show and when I tell people, when we're visiting at Lucille Packer, like he was, he's a celebrity. He was on the Today Show and I tell them about American Humane and immediately they'll look up American Humane and Hero Dog Awards so they can see what this is all about. And he's in our 14th annual award show, and what a great story that he has,

and our most unusual story, I would say, in 14 years, particularly given his incredible first three years of his life in a completely different capacity, and now what he's doing to, you know, being recognized as a hero such as this is what he's doing too. You know, being recognized as a hero such as this is wonderful for the whole animal assisted therapy space, isn't it? Yes. I feel it's amazing when they find out that, and then me thinking back that he was a cheetah companion dog to now therapy dog, that that's pretty special that he made that transition.

Yeah, it is very special. So when you think about Dayo's next steps after his head gets big walking down the red carpet as a hero dog, you know, finalist and winner of the therapy dog category, what's he gonna do next? Oh my goodness, what are you gonna do next? I do know that Lucille Packard and George Mark Children's House are just so close to our hearts that we'll always be there visiting the kids and then hopefully American Humane will have more stuff for you to do, Dayo to highlight, you know, other wonderful dogs that are gonna be trailblazer, well there's others that are gonna follow. That's

exactly right. He can serve to inspire the next generation of hero dogs, which is very important as well. And also the fact that he's an ambassador for his breed, which is a wonderful, wonderful story to tell. You know, I ask every hero dog that visits Robin's Nest, what is their superpower? What is Dayo's superpower? Oh my goodness. I know he's an extreme cuddler, is his superpower. But he's a body language expert. He does know how to read the people that he's visiting

and he knows whether or not they need a cuddle, a kiss, or for them just to lay on his lap or get a paw shake. He just knows what they need. That's his superpower. And what is yours, Liz? Mine is definitely understanding my dogs, and especially Dayo.

I can read his body language and know what's needed next with the patients. And then just my heart. Cause a lot of people that I ask, oh, would you guys like to come as pet therapy handlers to George Mark? And some say, thank you so much. I'm honored that you ask, but I wouldn't be able to do it

because I don't think I could handle what you handle every day. Yes. It just really tugs at the heartstrings and they say, you know, my hat's off to you, Liz. You just do such amazing work. I don't know how you and Dayo do it. I love that. Your superpower is your heart. Everyone would agree. Everyone who knows you would agree. And Dayo's superpower is the ability to innately know what someone else needs and someone especially

in need. It's wonderful. Oh, thank you. Well, you represent the best of the best of our hero dogs. We're so proud to know you and we thank you for sharing your impactful story with all of us in Robin's Nest. Oh, thank you so much for having me. This is so fun, and I love talking about Dayo and American Humane Hero.

This is such an amazing weekend, or week. Yes, yes. What's so nice too is that everyone listening to this episode of Robin's Nest or tuning in will actually be able to go to American Humane's YouTube channel and look up Dayo's incredible video. And again, I warn everyone, box of tissues required.

Thank you for being a superhero. Thank you for being a hero on both ends of the leash. We're so proud to know you. And thank you for joining us today in Robin's Nest. Oh, thank you so much, Robin. Thank you for tuning into Robin's Nest. We want to hear what you think. Please make sure to review the podcast on your podcast platform. Watch

for upcoming episodes that will include new and exciting discussions. If you love animals, you'll love this season of Robin's Nest. Music