A few weeks ago, on a Hawaiian island, a man concerned to help his sick relative make a good recovery, took his favourite pet to visit him in hospital. The only problem was the pet was not a cat or a dog, or even a gerbil in a cage, but a horse.

Wilcox Hospital in Lihue, a town of about 6,000 people on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, is generally accommodating when it comes to pets visiting their owners. It has a pet visiting policy, but this does not extend to horses and the procedure requires that all pets are checked by staff before they are allowed on the wards.

However, the concerned relative decided it would be a good idea to try and cheer up his friend and bring the horse to his sickbed. He was also reported to be intoxicated (the man, not the horse), according to hospital spokeswoman Lani Yukimura, who spoke to Honolulu’s Star Bulletin newspaper.

The horse’s escort called the hospital lobby to let them know he was bringing the horse that evening, but this was after the front desk staff had left for the day.

Security staff managed to stop the man and his equine companion from reaching his sick relative – they apprehended both man and beast as they came out of the elevator on the third floor.

Yukimura told the Star Bulletin it was a “very dangerous” thing to do, and that the hospital’s “greatest concern is patient care”.

However, the hospital, true to its spirit of being concerned for patient welfare, still allowed the patient to see his visitor – the patient was led to the horse.

But, unfortunately, the concerned relative had brought the wrong horse, it didn’t even belong to the patient.

Visitor and horse were escorted back to the car park, where the horse was walked into a trailer and both left.

Yukimura said they were just “thankful there was no incident”.

Wilcox Hospital has around 70 beds, includes an intensive care section and offers treatments for cardiac and a range of other conditions. It is part of Hawaiian Pacific Health.

Two Kaua’i patients who had not seen each other for 25 years were recently reunited at the hospital. Payton Hough and Jeff Habig were the first to receive the new Birmingham hip resurfacing procedure at the hospital, performed by orthopedic surgeon David Rovinsky.

Click here for Star Bulletin, Honolulu.

Star Bulletin, Honolulu (22 March); healthgrades.com, Wilcox Health.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD