Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt has just welcomed a new member to their team, full-time facility dog Squid!
Squid, a Canine Companion for Independence® facility dog, joined the Patient and Family Centered Care team at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital in February 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the local community. With visitors to the hospital limited due to health and safety precautions, Squid arrived on the job not a moment too soon to engage with patients and staff during this stressful and uncertain time.
Photo by Donn Jones/Vanderbilt Medical Center
As a Canine Companion certified facility dog, the two year old black Labrador/Golden Retriever mix has undergone extensive and highly specialized training for the last two years. As a result, Squid can perform more than 40 commands designed to motivate and inspire patients to obtain treatment goals. In addition to interacting with patients, Squid provides comfort and affection to families and hospital staff also experiencing the impact of stressful medical situations.
The Facility Dog Program at Children's Hospital was established through collaboration with Mars Petcare to support a full-time facility dog and a staff position for coordination of the program, with the overall goal of showing the positive impact a facility dog can have on patients, families and staff.
"Now more than ever, people are turning to pets for comfort and companionship, and we can’t wait to see the positive impact Squid has for the children, families, and staff at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt,” said Mark Johnson, President of Mars Petcare North America. “We’re thrilled to partner with the team at Vanderbilt to bring this facility dog program to life.”
Through its Better Cities for Pets™ program, Mars Petcare is dedicated to bringing the healing power of pets to more children and families. Together with Mars Petcare, Children's Hospital will work to harness the power of pets to improve the health of patients.