Oregon Health & Science University

As Oregon’s only public academic medical center, OHSU is at the forefront of medical research and innovation. But a pair of golden retrievers at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital gives the organization a unique distinction in another area: animal-assisted therapy. It’s the only hospital in the Northwest with two hospital facility dogs on staff.

“It’s tough being a kid in a hospital,” says chair of pediatrics Dana Braner. But “chief cuddling officers” Davis, 8, and Casey, 4, help provide a sense of normalcy. “There is nothing more normal than a kid and a dog.”