A 5-year-old patient regained a small sense of normalcy when a facility dog visited a hospital patio. The child, tethered to medical equipment, stood near his wheelchair long enough to toss a ball to the dog, and caregivers celebrated the moment. Facility dogs at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital are specially trained, full-time working dogs that support children during stressful procedures, motivate movement, and make hospitals feel less frightening. Research indicates that even brief interactions with facility dogs can improve overall well-being, lessen perceived pain, and reduce stress indicators such as cortisol levels and blood pressure. Programs are expanding across children’s hospitals, supported by growing professional networking events like the Facility Dog Summit.
"Despite being tethered to equipment with wires and tubes, the little boy managed to stand up near his wheelchair long enough to toss her a ball. He smiled as she ran to fetch it. Caregivers cheered. "Look how good you're doing!" said Hadley's handler, Schellie Scott. Such small victories and moments of joy are common whenever Hadley or one of the other three facility dogs at Cincinnati Children's Hospital show up."
"These furry caregivers aren't the typical therapy dogs volunteers bring to hospitals to comfort patients. They are specially trained, full-time working dogs that provide emotional support during stressful procedures, motivate kids to move around and make hospitals seem less scary. And experts say their ranks are growing at children's hospitals across the nation."
"A mounting body of research shows that even short interactions with facility dogs can improve children's overall well-being, decrease the pain they feel and reduce signs of stress, like cortisol levels and blood pressure. "These dogs are making a real difference," said Kerri Rodriguez, director of the Human-Animal Bond Lab at the University of Arizona. "They can provide a little bit of normalcy, a little bit of comfort, in a really stressful, sterile environment that kids might not feel comfortable in.""
"Although no one tracks the number of facility dogs in children's hospitals, Rodriguez points to the continual growth of the annual Facility Dog Summit, where handlers and other participants network and where attendance nearly doubled from 2024 to 2025. Other types of hospitals also have full-time dogs, but experts say children's hospitals account for most of the expansion in programs."
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