Helen Woodward Animal Center brings therapy dogs to Ronald McDonald House for Halloween celebration

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The Helen Woodward made a special Halloween visit to San Diego’s Ronald McDonald house Monday evening. Therapy dogs brought some joy and healing to families going through a difficult time.

"Their face lights up right away when they see the dogs," said Kathy Liu.

Liu knows the power of pet therapy by seeing it firsthand when her young son was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer.

"We saw the benefits of dog therapy. His stress levels were much lower and we just felt like that’s something the children in treatment definitely need," she said.

After her son passed away, she started the nonprofit foundation Joey’s Wings. The foundation focuses on research but also bringing these therapeutic encounters to the kids and families that need it most through a partnership with Helen Woodward Animal Center.

"This Pet Encounter Therapy program is a really special one because it is bringing the unconditional love of animals into hospitals, convalescent centers, all sorts of places where maybe the clients can’t get to the loving touch of an animal," explained Jessica Gercke, public relations director at Helen Woodward Animal Center.

"It’s that idea that somebody outside of them cares so much about their life at least for a short amount of time to volunteer like this. It changes their focus and allows them to kind of regroup for a minute," said CEO and President of Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego.

The families there all have a loved one staying at nearby hospitals, where the average visit can be over a month.

"It eases it a little bit. It gives us that moment of normalcy," Tristen Lopez said.