Canine Clinicians

Our Canine Clinicians are expertly trained facility dogs who work alongside on-staff professionals (handlers) with experience in understanding people’s mental and emotional health. Canine Clinicians help children navigate the toughest medical challenges, making hospital stays a little less stressful and a lot more comforting.

Our current Canine Clinicians, Squid and Velour, were chosen because of their calm demeanors, intelligence, and eagerness to work. They can perform over 40 different cues to help motivate patients to meet specific treatment goals and help make the clinical environment feel more like home.

We’re proud to partner with Canine Companions, an accredited service dog organization that leads their field. They have graciously provided our Canine Clinicians dogs at no cost, and generous Monroe Carell donors have supported the program’s additional needs like staffing, food, supplies, veterinary care and more. Philanthropy is essential to sustaining and growing the future of our program.

How are canine clinicians trained?

Our facility dogs are trained by Canine Companions. Each Canine Clinician’s training journey begins at eight weeks of age. They first live with puppy raisers who teach them basic obedience, making sure they can reliably follow commands. After this initial phase, the dogs receive specialized training with professional trainers where they learn specific tasks for their future work environments. Around age two, they graduate from their advanced training, often referred to as "doggy college," and begin their health care careers. Even after they start working, they continue to receive ongoing training, annual skills reviews to ensure they remain certified.

How are facility dog handlers trained?

Facility dog handlers are dedicated professionals with backgrounds in mental and emotional health, and who have extensive experience working with children and families. Each facility dog is paired with a primary and secondary handler to ensure consistent care and support.

Both handlers undergo an intensive two-week team training class where they bond with their dogs and learn how to effectively integrate them into their professional environments. To maintain the highest standards of service, both handlers and their dogs are recertified annually.

How did Squid and Velour get their names?

Canine Companions names each litter of puppies according to a letter in the alphabet. In Squid’s case, his litter all had names that start with S, and Velour’s litter all started with V.

Will more facility dogs be added to the program?

We hope to continue to grow the program and introduce you to more Canine Clinicians soon!

How can I meet a Canine Clinician?

Our facility dogs currently work in inpatient areas and the emergency department. A medical provider must make a request for a facility dog to work with a patient and then we prioritize based on the patient’s level of need and the availability of the facility dog teams. While we do our best to accommodate all medical requests, we cannot guarantee that all patients will get to see a facility dog.

Our facility dogs regularly visit Seacrest Studios and make regular appearances on our Instagram and Facebook pages.