Buckeye Paws Therapy Dogs Bring Care to Those Who Care for Others

We can all use a little help from our friends sometimes. And sometimes, those friends have four legs, a furry coat and a patient heart.

The founders of Buckeye Paws at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center realize this, and have made an effort to make sure their fellow employees and students at The Ohio State University receive needed well-being care and companionship with therapy dogs available from their organization.

Founded in March of 2020 at the medical center, Buckeye Paws supports all staff, faculty, clinicians and students across the medical center and Ohio State’s campuses, said co-founder Mary Justice, chief administrative officer with Ohio State’s College of Nursing.

“Our formal mission is to promote the mental and emotional health of staff, faculty, trainees and students at the medical center and Ohio State by providing support and comfort with highly trained, certified therapy dog-handler teams,” according to co-founder Beth Steinberg, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, Associate Director of Research, Center for Integrative Health.

As their informal tagline states: “We care for the people who care for the people.”

Steinberg said research showed many positive attributes to having therapy dogs around, such as decreased stress, decreased blood pressure and improving the overall mood of those around these special dogs.

“Our initial research, published June 2024, found that regular interactions between our healthcare staff and the Buckeye Paws therapy dogs significantly improved mood; we also found non-significant improvements in decreased stress and [increased] work engagement,” Steinberg said.

In doing this very important work, therapy dogs like those with Buckeye Paws provide support systems unique to canines: non-judgmental support and connection.

Justice and Steinberg were both working as inpatient nurses when they got puppies, and Justice had the idea to have their puppies complete therapy dog training. They thought bringing them to the medical center.

“We were both well aware of the stress and burnout that the healthcare staff experienced and wanted to try something to help,” said Steinberg.

According to Steinberg, Justice had previously had a therapy dog and knew how beneficial these interactions could be.

“I had experience developing programs for staff to help improve their mental health and well-being; however, I also knew that attending programs was very difficult for staff working in the medical center—it is difficult to take time during the workday and understandably, attending on a day off is not preferable. We knew that we had to meet the staff within their work environments to be successful: it had to be accessible and easy for them to participate,” Justice said.

Their familiarity with the medical center, after working there for years, helped the pair find the right stakeholders and right processes to take their program from idea to reality.

Following the success of a pilot program involving Justice’s dog, Shiloh, Buckeye Paws has grown from three therapy dog-handler teams in 2020 to almost 50 teams today, according to Justice.

So what does it take to be a therapy dog for Buckeye Paws?

Buckeye Paws therapy dogs complete basic and advanced obedience training, as well as therapy dog training, according to Justice.

Handlers must be employees of the Wexner Medical Center/Ohio State as they best understand the people, culture, policies, etc. of this environment, Steinberg explained. Handlers submit an application which includes a description of their dog and the dog’s background, certifications and health, as well as a description of the handler, their role on the campus and how they will integrate Buckeye Paws visits into their schedule. Then, following an application screening and a handler interview, the therapy dog and handler participate in a temperament test and Canine Good Citizen assessment.

“Based on the temperament test and current obedience skills, the therapy dog handler team may require additional obedience training (then scheduled for reassessment) or can move to certification with our Canine Master Trainer (First Response K-9),” Steinberg said.

Then, the process continues.

“Once certified by our Canine Master Trainer, the therapy dog teams must pass a minimum of three shadowing experiences, rounding in the medical center, medical center ambulatory setting, and/or campus, precepted by one of our senior therapy dog-handler teams. If they behaviorally pass these shadowing experiences, then they move to the formal orientation process. During their orientation, they join an experienced Buckeye Paws therapy dog-handler team for visits until the therapy dog and handler are comfortable and consistently compliant with our policy. We have a fidelity checklist that all handlers must follow to ensure consistency during each visit and integrity of the program. Our program coordinator and student assistants randomly assess our therapy dog handler teams on a regular basis during visits using the fidelity checklist,” Justice said.

Justice and Steinberg plan more research with respect to the therapy dogs. A qualitative study, beginning October 2025, will feature small focus groups, where they will solicit the perceptions of health care staff related to how the presence of the therapy dogs impact their personal well-being, work relationships and the work environment.

Visit the Buckeye Paws website to learn more about the program.

– Elizabeth Hosfeld