Therapy Dog Marcus
December 8, 2020
One of the newest members of the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio’s staff has four legs, a badge, a new Instagram account and a whole lot of love and support to give young patients and their families.
His name is Marcus, a Labrador-Golden Retriever mix who recently arrived in San Antonio from Georgia. The golden-haired pup is the first member of the hospital’s recently launched “PUPPYatrics” program of the child life department. He trained for months with the Canine Assistants in Milton, Georgia, and its Children’s Hospital Initiative. Marcus was welcomed to town with a pep rally-like reveal in November hosted by Children’s Hospital of San Antonio associates. The event featured balloons, banners, pom poms and a “blessing of the paws” from the hospital’s in-house spiritual care team.
Marcus also has an Instagram account showing him settling in to his new job, which was made official with what’s been dubbed a “bawdge,” or badge.