UCSF Children's Hospital Leukemia Patient Reunited with Stolen Puppy

Eight-year-old UCSF Children's Hospital leukemia patient Kyle Wetle was reunited Wednesday with the beloved puppy that was stolen from his family's car in the parking garage on Parnassus Heights on Saturday. Chemo, the 15-week-old black-and-tan Chihuahua, leaped into the astonished child's arms and showered him with wet kisses as his mother, Katrina Wetle, 15-year-old brother Sean and grandmother Kathi Sheehan looked on. "I just kept thinking about when I would get to play with him again," Kyle said. "He's a lot of fun to play with." Kyle said that he had never lost faith that Chemo would be returned, in part because of the intense media interest that has been focused on the theft, which occurred on Saturday at 5 p.m. on the "D" level of the UCSF parking garage. The 8-year-old is being treated by Mignon Loh, MD for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He has been undergoing chemotherapy in the hope that his leukemia will go into remission so that he may receive a life-saving cord blood transplant. Also observing were television and newspaper reporters, whose interest contributed in no small part to the safe return of the puppy on Tuesday morning, although only briefly to guard against potential infection. Chemo was returned to the Koret Family House on 10th Avenue where the Wetle family, of Monterey, has been staying during Kyle's hospitalization at around noon on Tuesday. The puppy was returned in the kennel in which it had been left. Its dog tags had been left inside the crate. Katrina Wetle retrieved the puppy from the UCSF Police Department at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night. Her son had not seen the puppy before they were reunited Wednesday afternoon. Kyle named the puppy Chemo because the dog always accompanies him to the hospital during his chemotherapy treatments. Wetle has been undergoing chemotherapy at UCSF Children's Hospital for the past five years. UCSF Children's Hospital Executive Director Roxanne Fernandes said that allowing pets in the hospital helps normalize the experience of being an in-patient for a child. "We do allow our patients to have pets in the hospital on a limited basis, because we know how much it means to a child to have a visit from a trusted and loving friend," Fernandes. "It's so very important that we support children's emotional well being in any way possible during the time when they're away from home." "We're just so grateful to everyone and to the news media," said Wetle during a news conference. "We didn't think we were going to ever see him again. This is just so amazing," she said. "This means so much to Kyle," Wetle said. "This dog is more than a puppy. It's his best friend." Police Captain Torin Fischer said that investigation into the theft and the return of the puppy is ongoing. One of the nation's top children's hospitals, UCSF Children's Hospital creates a healing environment where children and their families find compassionate care at the healing edge of scientific discovery, with more than 150 experts in 50 medical specialties serving patients throughout Northern California and beyond. UCSF is a leading university that consistently defines health care worldwide by conducting advanced biomedical research, educating graduate students in the health professions and life sciences, and providing complex patient care. Related Links: "Puppy Stolen from UCSF Children's Hospital Leukemia Patient Returned"
UCSF Today, September 5, 2006 Kyle's Smile "Cancer Patient, Puppy Reunited"
Additional photos
San Francisco Chronicle, September 6, 2006