There are few things in life that the internet loves more than dogs and when we find ourselves in times of trouble, their friendly faces can be a powerful source of comfort and emotional healing.
And since this year has already put us in more troubling times than most of us have ever experienced, the endless optimism and boundless energy of our furry friends couldn’t be more welcome.
So with that in mind, it’s no surprise that one Colorado man would want to harness the power of his singing dog to help us all make it through.
For the last few months, 25-year-old Tate Hegstrom of Denver, Colorado has been helping the city prepare.
As People reported , this is all part of his job as an administrative resident with HealthONE who now finds himself stationed at the city’s North Suburban Medical Center.
As he said, “It’s been setting up different ICU capacity rooms and identifying where we can safely place patients if we have a surge.”
HealthONE is part of a larger network known as HCA Healthcare and Hegstrom’s branch of it have recently undetaken a project to lift the spirits of medical staff.
According to People , this involved having various administrative workers employed by HCA Healthcare sing “Lean On Me” for nurses, doctors, cleaning staff, and others on the front lines of the current situation.
And for his part in this video, Hegstrom brought along a very special guest.
This is Kovu, a three-year-old husky that apparently loves being at the center of attention.
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As Hegstorm said, “When hiking, standing on top of the tallest thing he can find is, for some reason, a hobby of his.”
Kovu has been in Hegstrom’s family since he was a puppy and one of his favorite things to do is sing.
As Hegstrom told The Dodo, “Kovu started singing as soon as he could howl — since he was a puppy. Any time I play the guitar and sing, he jumps right in with some harmony!”
So when Hegstrom got the idea to include Kovu in his video, he knew full well what was going to happen.
As he told People , Kovu will start howling if someone starts singing or music plays, but even a siren can set him off.
As Hegstrom said, “All it takes is a little motivation, and he hops right in. If he starts, sometimes it can take him a while to stop.”
Although the HCA Healthcare video was originally supposed to be internal, Hegstrom’s part was shared by enough employees to take on a life of its own on the internet at large.
As he said, “Seeing it extend beyond that has been so special.”
He also shared that Kovu’s become aware of the fact that he has so many new fans and couldn’t be happier about it.
For Hegstrom, this has been a matter of sharing the love that he and his wife, Emily get to experience from Kovu every day.
As he said, “I’ll spend 12 hours in the hospital, and when you come home after a long day and he gives you one of the big ol’ howls, it is something special.”
And now, you can see just how special it is.
