As patients walk through the halls in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Spain Rehabilitation Center, they may encounter UAB’s newest canine colleague — a 2-year-old golden retriever named Topgun. Topgun is UAB’s first facility dog. He joined the SRC team in May and has already become a favorite among UAB Medicine patients and employees.
“Our patients and employees love to see Topgun,” said Emily Rider, a recreational therapist at UAB and facility dog handler. “Everyone just flocks to him naturally and really enjoys working with him. It is really cool to be able to watch him make these special connections with our patients and staff that are just unique to having a facility dog.”
In his role at UAB, Topgun works with patients who are recovering from stroke, spinal cord or brain injuries achieve their functional goals, such as improving their balance, stamina, ability to walk and overall motivation. While Topgun is like a therapy dog in his role of motivating patients who may be going through a difficult time, the biggest difference between a facility dog and therapy dog is the functional aspect of his job. As an official facility dog, Topgun is highly trained with special skills that help him enhance treatment sessions for physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and recreational therapy.
“Topgun is a huge motivator,” Rider said. “He encourages patients to walk farther, stand longer, lift more or whatever else they are trying to work on. He can challenge our patients in ways that therapists cannot. For example, he may cut in front of a patient while they are walking in order to work on dynamic balance. He can play fetch to help patients work on standing and coordination. Or he can just be the calm or goofy comedic relief that patients may need to get through their session that day. He is good at engaging with patients and knowing what they need in any given moment.”
When patients do the same physical actions over and over, they can get better at those skills. Since Topgun’s arrival in May, Rider says they have seen a huge improvement in patient motivation. Studies show that use of a facility dog can decrease a patient’s heart rate and blood pressure while boosting endorphins and morale.
“Sometimes doing physical and occupational therapy sessions each day can be discouraging or frustrating to patients when they feel they are not progressing the way they would like to,” Rider said. “When we throw Topgun into the mix, patients can still work toward achieving their goals; but they can do it in a more fun and enjoyable way. He can really brighten their day.”
Born to do this job
Topgun was provided to UAB Spain Rehabilitation’s center free of charge through Canine Companions, a national nonprofit that provides service dogs to adults, children and veterans with disabilities in addition to providing facility dogs like Topgun to health care professionals. Topgun was raised by volunteer puppy raisers for the first year of his life, then attended professional training at Canine Companions where he was trained in more than 45 specialized cues to help patients reach their rehab goals.