Used with permission of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, all rights reserved.
Facility: Mayo Clinic
by Whitney Romine
Animal-Assisted Services Manager, Mayo Clinic Rochester
Why did you want to bring therapy dogs into your facility?
That decision was made long before my arrival at Mayo Clinic. I’m sure it had to do with the emerging evidence of benefits to patients, such as reduction of stress, fear and anxiety and increase in feelings of safety, calm, and social connection (https://habri.org/).
How long have you had therapy dog visits at your facility?
Since 2004. 2024 marks the 20th Anniversary of the Caring Canines program.
Did you run into any complications when starting a therapy dog program?
My predecessors faced and overcame several challenges inherent in healthcare environments, priority among those was protecting patient and therapy animal safety. Most challenges were overcome through a slow, steady process of following established rules and best practices, creating new rules when needed, and doing research to contribute to the general body of knowledge for practice optimization and risk management.
How long are visits and how many dogs do you have visit at a time?
We have more than 40 therapy dog teams in Rochester and close to 100 within the entire Mayo Clinic enterprise, registered through both Alliance of Therapy Dogs and Pet Partners. The average visit is about 45-75 minutes depending on the dog’s age, experience, aptitude and skills. The maximum visit length is 2 hours.
Do you have a specific therapy dog visit that touched you?
One thing I love about my role is when any of our therapy or facility animal handlers come back to tell me about impactful visits with Mayo Clinic’s patients, visitors and staff.
Here is a collection of a few that highlight the difference therapy animal teams make:
Dean Wordelman and Ollie
“Dean and his therapy dog came to visit our unit. This means so much to our staff, especially while providing care for patients with complex cases. Their visit brightened everyone’s day!”
Rachel and Rosie and Faith and Ariel Knopps
We visited a 2-year-old who recently received spinal surgery. The patient was lying flat on a few ice packs and did not want to move due to discomfort and pain. Within minutes of our arrival, he was sitting up, giggling, and enjoying snuggles with Ariel and Rosie. The patient’s mom was crying and smiling at seeing her little boy enjoying a moment of respite and joy.
Adventures of Louie the Therapy Dog – Handler Ciana Svoboda
In a corner room of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit was a young girl and her family. She loved to be outside and playing in the sun. She would watch the birds fly and her favorite animal to see where the little red foxes.
Louie received a personal request from one of his favorite nurses, Nate, asking if this Foxy little red dog could visit. Louie’s answer was an energetic YES! He put on his favorite Tie of the Summer, bandana and badge then headed out the door excited to visit this little girl. Little did Louie know how meaningful his visit would be not only to the patient, but to her family as well.
Louie walked onto the unit and said hello to everyone. Nate had already set up a spot for Louie to lay next to this young little girl, so he could safely engage with her and her family. Louie went in and laid next to her for almost an hour as Mom assisted her little girl to pet Louie and to tell her what a beautiful little foxy red dog was here visiting her. Louie may not have been able to understand this little girl when she told him how soft and warm he was or what a good boy he had been, but he was able to provide healing and comfort to a family in need.
Later that night after returning home Louie received another message from Nurse Nate. The family of this beautiful little girl had asked him to send along a special thank you to Louie for giving them a moment where they could interact with their daughter not as a patient but as a parent and their child, and that this had meant the world to them. The young girl passed away not long after this meaningful moment.
Anne Bajzer and Hugo
Hugo recently visited a patient who had been hospitalized for a few months. The patient was thrilled to see Hugo standing at her hospital door. She sat up to pet Hugo and told many stories of her own dog that she has at home. We laughed about how funny living with a dog can be & she cried about how much she missed her pet. She said that Hugo was the best part of her day and that she enjoyed his visit so much. Hugo leaned into her long hugs the whole time and his wagging tail showed how much he enjoyed the visit too.
John and Daisy
Daisy and John had just finished visiting patients and were walking down the hallway on their way out. They noticed a woman sitting on the floor, and she asked if she could pet Daisy. John said, “Of course,” and Daisy immediately went over and leaned against her. The woman hugged Daisy, and then began to sob. She held onto Daisy gently and cried for a while. When she finally spoke, she told them she’d been having a rough week and that Daisy was exactly what she needed.
