Huntington Health staff and patients followed the Olympic news and were overjoyed to acknowledge a well-known, fluffy face.
Beacon, a four-year-old golden retriever who has a chilled effect within the hospital hallways, recently attracted national attention for providing animal-assisted therapy to members of the U.S. gymnastics team.
“I was so damn proud,” said Stacy Miller, director of volunteer services at Huntington Hospital. “I was so proud.”
With the support of his owner Tracey Callahan Molnar, who lives in Pasadena and has been energetic in rhythmic gymnastics within the USA for 40 years, Beacon has been calming athletes (and coaches) at quite a few competitions and training camps since May 2023.
His cheerful disposition, his wagging tail and his belly that’s all the time able to be scratched provide them with the much-needed rest after a busy day.
But long before he became the poster child for USA Gymnastics' animal therapy, Beacon was a well-liked figure at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.
For nearly two years, he strolled the halls every other Tuesday along with his owner, Callahan Molnar, bringing joy and stress relief to people in outpatient rehab, the emergency room, the pediatric department and anywhere else he was needed, Miller said.
“He just loves getting all the attention and giving it back,” she said.
But all this might not be possible without the exertions and dedication of its owner, Callahan Molnar.
“I love my dog, I love volunteering, I love volunteering with animal therapy and I love gymnastics,” said Callahan Molnar. “I never thought I would have the opportunity to combine all of these things.”
The 65-year-old's journey with animal-assisted therapy began in 2015 when she began volunteering at Huntington Health together with her previous dog, a golden retriever named Tulsa.
After Tulsa died in 2019, Callahan Molnar felt an excellent emptiness. She missed each her beloved pet and the enjoyment of animal therapy, she said.
When Beacon got here into their lives, Callahan Molnar hoped he would have the identical comforting nature. Fortunately, Beacon proved to be a natural, bringing warmth and happiness to everyone he met.
“He just loves people,” she said. “He always wants to greet people, even when we're not volunteering.”
The presence of dogs like Beacon is important to providing comprehensive care to patients, says Dr. Kimberly Shriner, medical director of infection prevention at Huntington Hospital, where the tradition of animal-assisted therapy dates back to 1984.
“The hospital stay is very emotional for patients and also for health care workers,” she said. “And I think the distraction and the emotional support of animal therapy, especially for patients who have animals of their own, is really, really important.”
Research has shown that simply petting a dog lowers the stress hormone cortisol while increasing oxytocin, the hormone that promotes positive feelings. This helps calm people in stressful situations, reminiscent of patients affected by Long COVID, a disease with limited treatment options that could cause significant anxiety and fatigue, Shriner said.
When Callahan Molnar saw these advantages firsthand within the hospital, she wondered if animal-assisted therapy may very well be just as effective in sports and other high-stress environments.
When her colleague Caroline Hunt, Vice President of Rhythmic Gymnastics at USA Gymnastics, suggested introducing animal therapy at competitions, Callahan Molnar was immediately on board.
They discussed how animal therapy teams could help athletes reduce stress and talked through among the logistics. With the approval of USA Gymnastics CEO Li Li Leung, they got the green light to introduce animal-assisted therapy as a “test event” at a rhythmic gymnastics competition, which in turn opened up the chance for Beacon and other therapy dogs to compete in gymnastics events.
In doing so, they became a part of the U.S. gymnastics team's broader effort to prioritize athletes' emotional well-being – a difficulty that gained significant attention following Simone Biles' withdrawal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
As Beacon's presence at gymnastics events became more outstanding, his following on Instagram also grew rapidly. His Instagram account, goldendogbeaconhas accrued greater than 36,000 followers since Friday afternoon.
Many fans have also asked why Beacon and Callahan Molnar, who returned to Pasadena on July 1, weren’t on the games in Paris.
She explained that logistical challenges prevented her from participating, but they’ve been cheering on the U.S. athletes from afar. In her latest Instagram video, Beacon may be seen sitting amid large white letters that spell out the words “WE ARE TEAM USA.”
And although Callahan Molnar, a more private person, found the increased attention a bit overwhelming, she was glad that her story had an uplifting effect on people and raised awareness in regards to the importance of animal-assisted therapy. She plans to proceed volunteering at Huntington Health and with USA Gymnastics.
“With so many negative and challenging things happening in the world today, a lot of the comments I've received are just saying thank you for this uplifting story, for uplifting moments,” she said. “Who would have thought that what Beacon is doing would bring a sigh of gratitude or a smile to someone's face, like someone on the other side of the country or in another country, or people who are struggling with their own issues, and people we haven't met. I'm really grateful to be able to do this.”
Originally published:
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