Paws & Heel UNC Children's Facility Dog Program

Bring Facility Dogs to UNC Children’s

Help bring comfort, courage and joy to children facing some of their hardest days.

For a child in the hospital, a procedure, treatment or long stay can feel overwhelming. A specially trained facility dog can help make those moments a little easier—offering comfort, easing anxiety and giving children moments of connection and joy.

The Paws & Heel UNC Children’s Facility Dog Program will bring specially trained dogs into UNC Children’s as full-time members of the care team, working alongside healthcare professionals to support children and families throughout their care.

We are working toward welcoming our first two facility dogs in 2027.

What Makes a Facility Dog Different?

Facility dogs are specially trained to work in healthcare settings. Unlike therapy dogs, which typically visit with their handlers, facility dogs receive 18–24 months of specialized training and live and work onsite with their hospital employee handlers.
They are prepared to navigate the unique demands of a hospital and support children in ways that complement their medical care.
At UNC Children’s, a facility dog may help a child:

• Prepare for a procedure
• Manage anxiety, pain or stress
• Participate in treatment or therapy
• Develop coping skills
• Find moments of normalcy during a hospital stay

Sometimes, that support is as simple as having a friendly companion by their side.

Finding the Right Dogs

Bringing facility dogs to UNC Children’s starts with finding dogs who are uniquely suited for this important work.

We are partnering with Eyes, Ears, Nose and Paws, an organization with expertise in training and placing assistance and facility dogs. Together, we are working to identify and prepare the dogs who will become part of the UNC Children’s care team.

Our goal is to begin with two facility dogs in 2027.

Building on Canine Support at UNC

Dogs already have a special place in the UNC community. Tar Heel Paws and the dog associated with the Patient & Family Resource Center have shown the comfort and connection animals can bring to patients, families and the hospital community.

Paws & Heel builds on that foundation with a distinct role: bringing highly trained facility dogs into UNC Children’s as full-time members of the pediatric care team.

The Impact Goes Beyond the Patient

A facility dog can sit beside a child before a procedure, provide a welcome distraction during treatment, encourage participation in therapy or simply offer companionship on a difficult day.

For families, that presence can bring a sense of normalcy to an experience that can otherwise feel anything but normal. And in a demanding hospital environment, facility dogs can offer healthcare professionals moments of connection, joy and stress relief, too.

Help Bring Paws & Heel to UNC Children’s

Launching and sustaining a facility dog program takes philanthropic support. Gifts help provide specialized training, veterinary care, food, grooming, supplies and the ongoing care these dogs need throughout their working lives.

Your support can help bring the first two Paws & Heel facility dogs to UNC Children’s in 2027—and give children and families another source of comfort when they need it most.

Be part of bringing Paws & Heel to UNC Children’s.

Give today and help make this new source of comfort, connection and support possible.