After a two-year hiatus, two golden retrievers named Molly and Choppy strolled down the halls of Cox Branson looking for staff and patients to give them pets.
“They bring our patients so much joy and our staff so much joy,” said Stacey Ferrell, the patient experience consultant at Cox Branson. “Dogs just have this natural way of healing and meeting you where you are and they don’t have judgment.”
Therapy dogs go through specialized training to be calm and social with people. Which makes them perfect for a hospital. Even after a few years away, they didn`t hesitate to lead their handlers through the halls, greeting guests.
Ferrell said having dogs roam the building with their owners again is a sign showing things are returning back to how they were before the pandemic.
“It’s 100% a sign of normalcy to get back to having our dogs,” said Ferrell. “When they were here before, they were here just before COVID shut us down.”
The dogs usually visit both staff and patients, but Ferrell said Molly and Choppy were specifically at the facility for staff on Wednesday (3/30/22).
“Staff has just gone through so much with COVID and how it’s affected them mentally,” said Ferrell. “It’s just really a wonderful type of interaction that gives a little bit of an escape.”
Ferrell said the dogs will eventually begin visiting patients again.
(Story by Ivie Macy and Lex Smith, Ozarks First)
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