Ten Years of Healing Paws: Lourdes Hospital Pet Therapy Program Marks a Milestone
What started with a single dog and a simple idea has grown into one of Guthrie Lourdes Hospital's most beloved programs — and this spring, it turns 10.
Brenda Sylvester, PA-C, a Physician Assistant in the hospital’s OR, founded the Lourdes Pet Therapy Program after a talk she gave to a local cancer survivor group sparked something unexpected.
She had invited a roomful of therapy dog teams to join her for the presentation, and afterward Sylvester brought a few of them up to the oncology floor to visit consenting patients.
The response was immediate — and deeply human.
"The patients that were seen that evening boasted about how wonderful it was to see a dog," Sylvester said. "They stated how the dogs brought a sense of calmness and change which made them smile."
That visit led to conversations with hospital administration, a new policy, and eventually a formal program.
Sylvester and her dog Rhoda launched the initiative on 1 Medical, at that time the hospital's oncology unit, going room to room on their own for months — quietly offering comfort, one bedside at a time. Today, several teams make regular visits throughout the hospital.
Pet Therapy's Impact
Over the decade, the program has accumulated no shortage of profound moments.
One evening, Sylvester arrived on the floor with five or six teams to find a family lining the hallway, heads down, keeping vigil as their loved one neared the end of life. When they looked up and saw the dogs, they asked if the animals could come into the room.
Sylvester brought her dog, Segal, to the bedside, and a family member gently guided the patient's hand to pet him. The patient — who had been unresponsive — looked up and reacted. It was one of his last lucid moments. He passed away that night. For his family, Sylvester said it was a moment of unexpected grace.
Another visit that stays with Sylvester involved a patient who spoke no English and had fallen into a deep depression. When she spotted Benny, a Bernese Mountain Dog, in the hallway with his handler Kevin, something shifted.
She came out to see him, and Sylvester said the change in her was so striking that staff purchased a Bernese Mountain Dog stuffed animal for her to keep close. The team visited her weekly until she was discharged to a nursing home — a small, steady presence during a difficult time.
Healing That Goes Both Ways
The benefits extend well beyond patients. Staff regularly tell Sylvester the visits help them push through difficult shifts.
"They tell us they help them get through the day," she said, "especially if they are having a stressful day."
Research supports what caregivers feel intuitively: animal-assisted therapy can ease anxiety, lower blood pressure, lift mood, and support pain management.
Sylvester saw it firsthand when a patient admitted for hypertension had a noticeably lower blood pressure reading taken mid-visit with Rhoda — a quiet reminder of the healing that can happen in the most unexpected ways.
Behind the scenes, the all-volunteer program runs on careful protocols to keep patients and animals safe. Teams stay home when sick, and dogs are regularly groomed before visits — because the trust patients and families place in this program is something the team takes seriously.
As for the next 10 years, Sylvester hopes to keep growing the program — and continue one of its most cherished traditions: delivering handmade Christmas cards to patients spending the holiday in the hospital, making sure no one feels forgotten.
The Lourdes Pet Therapy Program is staffed entirely by volunteers. To get involved, contact Jennifer Gates, Supervisor of the GLH Volunteer Office, at jennifer.gates@guthrie.org or Brenda Sylvester at brendaa.sylvester@guthrie.org.