COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nationwide Children's Hospital has a new corner for patients and families coming for their appointments featuring Butterfly PAWS, an expanded facility and therapy dog program.

The hospital opened its "Canine Corner" on the first floor earlier this month.

What You Need To Know

  • The hospital currently has 10 facility and therapy dogs on its campus, but with the expansion of the Butterfly PAWS program, it will ultimately have 10 facility dogs and 70 therapy dogs 

  • Facility dogs are trained to the highest level, from birth to two years old before supporting any patient care

  • Therapy dogs are trained pets the have met criteria based on credentialing from Canine Good Citizen, Alliance of Therapy Dogs or Therapy Dog International

  • The hospital partners with Canine Companions, who placed facility dogs Hudd II, Beck and Boltz

The hospital currently has 10 facility and therapy dogs on its campus, but with the expansion of the Butterfly PAWS program, it will ultimately have 10 facility dogs and 70 therapy dogs with a larger team of community and staff volunteers with the certified dogs.

Facility dogs are trained to the highest level, from birth to two years old before supporting any patient care. These dogs are trained to use treatments used by clinical staff to help patients reach their highest level of function and well-being. 

Nationwide Children’s current facility dogs are called MDs and include black labrador retriever Hud II, golden retriever Beck and yellow labrador retriever Boltz.

Therapy dogs are trained pets that have met criteria based on credentialing from Canine Good Citizen, Alliance of Therapy Dogs, or Therapy Dog International to serve patients, staff and families through social and comfort interactions.

“Research shows that spending just five minutes with a dog can lower cortisol and stress. Especially in a hospital setting, we know that affects everyone. We are thrilled to be impacting the culture of our hospital and supporting emotional well-being for our patients, families and staff,” said Melissa McMillen, CTRS, program manager of the Butterfly PAWS program and Hud II’s handler. “Since we started working with our first dog in 2006, our facility dogs and their clinical therapist-handlers have helped countless patients and their families, from providing motivation in physical therapy and aiding in the development of fine motor skills, to improving assertive communication and self-esteem. We look forward to all the milestones still to come.”

The hospital partners with Canine Companions, who placed Hudd II, Beck and Boltz. Canine Companions have placed more than 7,800 service dogs since 1975.

“Our dogs can often provide more support and opportunities for therapists to reach our patients in ways we can’t during a typical therapy session,” said Rochelle Krouse, CTRS, recreational therapist at Nationwide Children’s and Beck’s handler. “We are eager to collaborate with our community to increase access to this important kind of care and continue to foster the bond between people and dogs.”