UAB Spain Rehabilitation Center gets a new canine colleague

Topgun, a male Golden Retriever who is trained and certified as a facility dog, recently joined the staff at UAB Spain Rehabilitation Center (Spain Rehab). He’s now there each day assisting his partner and best friend, Recreational Therapist Emily Rider, in helping patients in their recovery and in therapy sessions. In the Q&A session below, Topgun – with a little help from Emily – shares some experiences and explains his new role as a facility dog.

Can you tell us a little about your training and education?

Some very smart humans with an organization called Canine Companions taught me a lot of what I know. They prepare dogs like me to help people with disabilities and for jobs in health care, criminal justice, and educational settings. Volunteer puppy-raisers take us for 18 months, then the experts at Canine Companions give us professional training for six months. After my training, I was matched with my new best friend, Emily, at Spain Rehab to work with her to help patients get well. My job as a facility dog started this summer, and I already love it.

What’s the difference between a therapy dog and a facility dog?

We facility dogs work with therapists, counselors, guidance counselors, psychologists, and rehabilitation therapists, mostly at one location or facility. In my case, I can handle a number of tasks for animal-assisted therapy, which helps patients meet goals that are important for their recovery. 

There are a lot of other kinds of therapy dogs who visit patients at various clinics to cheer them up and give lots of love and emotional support. Those are good dogs too, and they have an important job. As an official facility dog, I am highly trained with special skills that help me enhance treatment sessions for physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and recreational therapy. If that sounds like I’m bragging, it’s because I am.

What are some specific ways that you help patients with their therapy?

Sometimes patients might have a hard time keeping their balance, so I can help them practice getting it back with a gentle game of tug-of-war. Or maybe it will help them by picking up my leash from the floor and walking with me a short distance. If patients need to practice using their arms or hands by throwing a ball or Frisbee, well, I’m a Retriever, so you might say I was born to play fetch. I admit that we have to keep fetch kind of lowkey in the hospital, but it works. I can even help patients practice buttoning a shirt or tying their shoes. 

Doing the same physical actions over and over is often a good way for patients to get better at those skills. The experts say that repeating tasks can be more fun if you do them with a dog. Also, studies show that use of a facility dog can decrease a patient’s heart rate and blood pressure while boosting endorphins and morale. I don’t know what any of that means, but all the doctors and therapists at Spain Rehab say it’s a big deal. 

What do you like most about your job?

The humans I help have recently had a stroke, a spinal cord or brain injury. Sometimes they are sad and scared, so Emily and I help these patients get back to doing some of their favorite activities, and maybe help them feel happier. That basically means that I love everything about this job – no matter what my task is for the day. I enjoyed this job the first week I set paw on the medical campus. You can probably see how much I love working when my tail wags, because even we highly trained dogs can’t hide all of our feelings. I also love working with my colleague, Emily. We make a great team. Plus, Emily and many co-workers and patients on our floor say I’m a good boy, and that’s the bottom line, really.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?

I live with Emily. Along with being my co-worker, she’s my human and my best buddy. We do all the fun stuff that dogs and their humans enjoy: long walks, chasing toys, riding in the car, all that good stuff. We do everything together, but snuggle time is my favorite. Of course, Emily is a medical professional, which means she cares about my health more than I think is normal, so she brushes my teeth every night and spends a lot of time inspecting my paws. Anyway, I can’t overemphasize that we have lots of snuggle time. Lots of it.

What are your goals in your career as a facility dog?

This is my first year working in the hospital, so right now I have only two modest goals. First, I want to learn more cues, skills, and special ways to help patients. Second, I want to be the best facility dog in the whole world, ever. We’ll see what happens after that. I mean, when your name is Topgun, it’s not like there’s a lot of room for slacking off.

Click here to learn more about UAB Spain Rehabilitation Center, which provides inpatient and outpatient care to help improve the long-term function and quality of life for patients with injuries or disabilities.