Nurse Makes Difference Leading Dog Therapy Program
During National Nurses Week, Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) was proud to recognize Linda Marler, RN, BSN, who is a registered nurse and the North Region Coordinator of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) for Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH). In addition to being a career nurse, she coordinates more than 65 volunteers for 13 BSWH locations for the AAT program. She also brings her therapy dogs to the LHSON before final exams each quarter to provide comfort to the nursing students. On Tuesday, May 12, Marler made one final visit to the LHSON before her retirement from BSWH after more than 39 years and the LHSON presented her with a certificate of appreciation.
“I definitely think that therapy dogs make a positive difference in patients, staff, visitors and nursing students,” said Marler. “There are numerous articles on the effects of dogs in human’s lives, including lower blood pressure and increasing serotonin and endorphins. Dogs make people smile. Walking down the hallway at the hospital always results in everyone who passes us smiling at the dogs.”
Marler said she started volunteering with her first golden retriever, Reilly, in 1989 and is currently on her fifth golden retriever. “I have always ‘been into dogs’ since I was little, working for a veterinarian for seven years before nursing school. It has been a real blessing to be able to combine my two passions: dogs and nursing.” She noted that she has also had a German shepherd, a lab, a mixed breed, a bulldog, a rabbit and a parrot involved in the therapy program.
Reflecting back on her legacy of dog therapy, Marler recounts many memorable stories. “Every day we get comments such as, ‘you made my day’ and ‘I needed this today’. But one memory that sticks out the most was when I was working at Baylor Hospital in Plano with my golden, Eli. The patient was lying in bed, not communicating and her daughter was at her bedside. The daughter asked me to put the dog in bed with her mom. As I lifted the dog into the bed, the dog laid his head on the patient’s chest. The patient reached down, eyes still closed and started petting the dog. The dog laid there for quite some time while the patient’s fingers were moving in the dog’s fur. We finally got down to move to another room. Not long after, the daughter came out of the room asking if we could come back. She was crying and said her mom was reaching for the dog. So, we went back for a few more minutes. The daughter kept thanking us, telling me that her mom had not had any movement for several days.”
Currently, Marler has two golden retrievers that she utilizes in therapy. One is named Caleb, a 6-year-old who has been doing this work since he was one year old and she notes that he is her “COVID puppy”. The other dog is named Amos, a 2-year-old that started when he was seven weeks old. “There are a lot of breeds that can do this work but Goldens hold a special place in my heart,” said Marler. “They love everyone and love being around people and they are easy to train and adapt really well to different environments. They live to make people happy.”