On his first shift at Great Plains Health, Apollo sat quietly while a teenage girl hugged him and made a baby laugh as their family prepared to say goodbye to a loved one. For the two-year-old rescue dog, the difficult assignment immediately tested more than sociability. It tested a year of preparation for hospital work.
Apollo, described as a golden mountain dog, has joined the chaplain team at Great Plains Health in North Platte, Nebraska. He works alongside Brenda Lee, the hospital’s senior staff chaplain and head of pastoral services, and is the first certified therapy dog assigned to that team.
That placement is important. Apollo is not simply making an occasional appearance as a visiting dog. His role is integrated into the chaplaincy team’s emotional and spiritual support for patients and families facing hospitalization, uncertainty, sadness and anxiety. Great Plains Health describes its broader chaplain service as nondenominational support available during crises, trauma, surgery and quiet reflection.
Lee had considered adding animal-assisted work to pastoral care for years, and her doctoral thesis centered on the subject. She saw a trained dog as another point of connection, particularly for people who might not otherwise seek a chaplain.
I settled on animal-assisted therapy thinking that that would be another great way to connect with patients, even patients who never even thought about seeing a chaplain, Lee said.
Preparation for a demanding workplace
Apollo’s certification through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs took more than a year. His preparation included exposure to wheelchairs, elevators, loud noises and people who walk unsteadily. Each is a routine feature of a medical environment but also a potential distraction or stressor for an inexperienced dog.
The objective was not to make Apollo indifferent to his surroundings. It was to prepare him to remain composed and attentive while equipment moved, doors opened, unfamiliar sounds carried through corridors and patients approached with different patterns of movement. That steadiness became essential during his first assignment, which included babies, teenagers and adults in the same room.
His observable behavior was straightforward: He remained on the floor while the teenage girl held him, and his interaction with the baby prompted laughter. Lee said the visit brought peace to the room. It is impossible to assign a broader clinical effect from one encounter, but the behavior matched the role for which Apollo had been prepared offering companionship and helping people feel less alone during a difficult moment.
Research provides some support for that limited, adjunctive role. A 2025 randomized clinical trial involving 80 children in a pediatric emergency department found a modest but significantly greater reduction in child-reported and parent-reported child anxiety when a certified therapy dog and handler were added to standard child-life care. The study was conducted in one pediatric emergency department, however, and its findings do not establish that every patient or hospital setting will respond the same way.
A broader peer-reviewed review likewise found that brief interactions with therapy dogs can reduce self-reported anxiety and distress, while emphasizing that results vary by population, method and outcome. That distinction matters at Great Plains Health: Apollo complements Lee’s pastoral work rather than replacing clinical care or proving a medical benefit in any individual patient.
A therapy dog is a managed hospital participant
Certification alone does not remove the need for hospital safeguards. The CDC’s guidance for animals in healthcare facilities calls for healthy, clean and well groomed animals; trained handlers; supervision; regular health and behavior evaluation; and strict hand hygiene after contact. It also advises minimizing contact with saliva and considering allergies, asthma, immune status and room access case by case with medical staff.
Those controls distinguish a managed therapy program from bringing an ordinary pet into a hospital. They also protect the dog. A trained handler must recognize signs of stress and end an interaction when necessary. Apollo’s certification does not make him a service dog, either: Under the CDC’s definition, a service animal is individually trained to perform work or tasks for a person with a disability. Apollo instead works with Lee to support patients and families encountered through the chaplain team.
Lee’s stated goal was to bring peace and calm into situations shaped by anxiety. Apollo’s first shift does not settle the larger scientific questions surrounding animal-assisted interventions, but it provides a clear working example of preparation meeting assignment: a young rescue dog remained composed across age groups while a chaplain supported a family facing a final goodbye.
What’s your dog’s job, official or self-appointed? Tell us in the comments.
By Tom Whitaker — Outdoor magazine editor who has reported on search-and-rescue, herding, field dogs, and working-dog handlers.
