Baylor Scott & White connects patients with dogs trained to comfort, assist

While most people teach their dogs to heel, a Santa Rosa, California-based nonprofit is also training the four-legged creatures to heal.

Canine Companions has raised, trained and placed more than 7,500 dogs since it was founded in 1975.

The nonprofit gives dogs to adults and children with disabilities at no cost, along with providing the animals for use in healthcare organizations, courtrooms and educational facilities. Paige Mazzoni, CEO of Canine Companions, said service dogs help people feel more confident engaging in their communities, and facility dogs used in healthcare provide comfort to patients and staff during difficult situations.

“They are really motivational,” she said.

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Although the nonprofit’s dogs can be found in hospitals nationwide, Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health is the first health system to operate one of Canine Companions’ training centers. It provides financial support to the first-of-its-kind affiliate center—located at its Kinkeade Campus in Irving, Texas—and encourages its staff members to volunteer with the organization. 

The dogs spend the first two years of their lives learning basic skills, getting socialized and mastering 45 tasks, such as turning book pages, applying a calming pressure across a patient’s lap and retrieving items. Patients needing occupational or physical therapy can build arm strength by tossing balls and playing fetch with the dogs. The canines also learn specialized jobs to serve their handler’s individual needs.

Baylor Scott & White has helped connect patients with trained dogs along with using six dogs of its own in facilities. 

Lorenzo, a Labrador retriever-golden retriever mix, works Monday through Friday alongside his handler, certified child life specialist Leah Woodward, at McLane Children’s Medical Center in Temple, Texas. He will hop onto patient beds when invited and calm kids as they get treatments such as IVs and stitches. The hospital also organizes events for staff to play with Lorenzo.

“Sometimes we do that when we know a unit has had a particularly challenging day or week. … Sometimes staff [members] just need a little extra support,” Woodward said.

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Baylor Scott & White first introduced Roberta Palmer to Canine Companions when she was undergoing rehabilitation following an ATV accident, which left her paralyzed from the chest down. Palmer saw firsthand how the four-legged friends can improve the lives of those living with disabilities.

Palmer applied for her own service dog to help her better navigate life from a wheelchair. The organization matched her in 2021 with a yellow Labrador retriever named Patrick. The pooch opens and closes doors, moves laundry, removes her jacket and pulls her wheelchair when she gets tired—just a few of the tasks he learned in professional training. 

“With having a spinal cord injury, there’s pain too. You have days where you just don’t feel good. All you have to do is play with your dog, and it’s very uplifting,” Palmer said.