8-year-old inspires Nationwide Children’s to expand their therapy dog facility
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A little girl’s journey through treatment with her physical therapy dog has inspired Nationwide Children’s to expand their therapy dog facility.
Friday, the hospital unveiled its new canine corner — where patients can interact with therapy dogs.
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The little girl behind the expansion is 8-year-old Macie Taylor. Taylor was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was just 1 year old.
After many years of surgeries and therapies, she met Beck, the therapy dog assigned to her – and together they formed an unbreakable bond.
Taylor now hopes the dogs can help other patients the same way that Beck has helped her.
“I think it might give them, like, a part of home if they have dogs and also when I was having a bad day the therapy dogs would come and they would make it better,” Taylor said.
The hospital said petting the dogs will improve a patient’s morale, as well as lower stress levels.
Research shows spending just five minutes with a dog can have benefits. Therapy dogs are trained from birth to 2 years old. They are specially trained to use treatments that healthcare workers use to rehabilitate patients.
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