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Facility Dog Program

The Facility Dogs help kids cope and heal during their hospital visits.
  • Meet the Dogs and Handlers
  • Frequently Asked Questions
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We are pawsitively thrilled to introduce the newest members of our world class health care team at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital! Welcome to Iowa, facility dogs Corrin and Nacho! 

As facility dogs, Corrin and Nacho help our pediatric patients reach specific clinical goals and promote healing through animal-assisted interventions. Examples of interventions include procedural support, pain management, treatment compliance, and outcome-driven play. 

Alongside their handlers, who are child life specialists, these gentle canines support patients through motivation, encouragement, and companionship.

The Dogtors are in!

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Meet Corrin and Nacho

Corrin (pronounced CORE-in)

Breed: Golden Retriever/Chocolate Lab/Poodle  

Birthday: April 9  

Primary Handler: Aly Humphrey (left)

Secondary Handler: Kristen Rooney (right)

Personality: Sweet, goofy, playful, calm 

Hobbies: Corrin loves to play with other dogs, meet new friends, play fetch, and take naps! 

Fun fact: Corrin is named after a Super Smash Brothers character, and has many siblings with Super Smash Brothers names, too! 

Nacho

Breed: Golden Retriever/Poodle 

Birthday: May 9 

Primary Handler: Emily Bradley (left)

Secondary Handler: Taylor Turben-Fuhrman (right)

Personality: Sweet, calm, silly, playful 

Hobbies: Nacho loves a good snuggle and will nap anytime, anywhere. He loves to play fetch and with his dog sister at home.  

Fun fact: Nacho is from a Tex-Mex themed litter and has siblings that are also hospital facility dogs!  

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  • Your Child's Visit
    • Patient Resources
      • How to prepare for your child's visit
        • Coming to your appointment
      • Child Life
        • Child Life Internship and Fellowship Information
        • Facility Dog Program
      • Create or Read a Patient Blog
      • Educational Services
      • Get to know MyChart
      • Guest and Concierge Services
      • Interpretation and Translation Services
      • Office of the Patient Experience
        • Patient Relations Specialists
      • Pediatric Clinical Trials
      • Social Services
      • Telephone Numbers at UI Health Care
        • Integrated Call Center
    • Services and Amenities at Stead Family Children's Hospital
      • Driving Directions and Parking
      • Places to Eat
        • Guest Meal Room Service
        • Bread Garden Cafe - Gerdin Family Lobby
        • Gerdin Family Lobby Café
        • Patient Room Service at Stead Family Children's Hospital
      • Fourth Floor Salon
      • Janice and Bruce Ellig Children's Library
      • Kaleidoscope Gift Shop
      • Medical Museum
      • Play Spaces
      • Project Art
        • Artwork inside Stead Family Children's Hospital
        • Online Gallery
      • Safety Store
    • Billing, Insurance, and Financial Assistance
      • Financial Counseling Services
        • Financing Assistance for Children's Health Care
      • Financial and Billing Assistance
        • Billing Checklist
        • How to Read Your Bill
        • Options and Steps for Paying your Bill
        • Rights and Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills
        • Billing for Hospital-Based Clinics
      • Frequently Asked Questions About Billing, Insurance, and Records
      • Insurance Coverages and Patient Registration
        • UI Health Care Insurance Contract List
        • Frequently Asked Questions for Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Patients
        • Medicare Coverage
      • Medical Records Request
        • Medical record privacy and adolescent patients
    • Visitor Resources
      • Places to Stay in the Iowa City Area
        • Overnight Stay for Guests
        • Ronald McDonald House and Hope Lodge
      • Send a gift
      • Visitor Parking Pass Booklet
      • Visitor guidelines, screenings, and restrictions
        • No Tobacco Use

Photos of Corrin

Corrin
Corrin giving child life a hug
Corrin
Corrin walking the hallways

Photos of Nacho

Nacho
Nacho sits in a chair
Nacho
Nacho walking hallways

Facility Dog FAQs

Facility dogs are community therapy animals who provide animal-assisted therapy (AAT) in a pediatric health care setting.  

Our facility dogs are important members of the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital care team. Together with their handler—a certified child life specialist—facility dogs provide patient care and promote healing by helping pediatric patients reach various clinical goals through pain management, procedural support, outcome-driven play, sibling and family support, and more. 

Our facility dogs provide care to children based on assessments made by the child life team. The clinic or unit child life specialist will work with the facility dog handler to prioritize and schedule care based on these assessments and facility dog availability. Unfortunately, the dogs aren’t able to visit every patient!  

Please note, for safety and infection prevention reasons, facility dogs are not able to provide care/services to patients in isolation. 

If you see a handler and facility dog at the hospital, please ask the handler if it is okay to approach the facility dog. Our dogs have full schedules caring for patients and may not have time to stop. If they do, the handler will invite you to say hello to the dog. Please do not pet the facility dog unless the handler says it’s okay.

Our facility dogs live with their handlers who love and care for them 24/7. When the dogs are not at work, they are like any other dog who loves to eat, play, and snuggle! When they take their vests off after leaving the hospital, they know they are “off work” and can enjoy their free time like any other employee! 

The Facility Dog Program does not replace the Furry Friends program. Both programs are meaningful to patients and families during their experiences in our facilities.  

Dogs in these programs have different goals and support patients in different ways.   

Learn more about the Furry Friends program. 

The Facility Dog Program at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital is funded entirely by philanthropic dollars. We are grateful for these generous donations from members and partners in our local, statewide, and global communities. 

Support the facility dog program at UI Stead Family Children's Hospital through our facility dog program wish list. 

Corrin and Nacho facility dogs
Nacho (left) Corrin (right)

*A facility dog is a certified community therapy animal approved by the University to work with children as a member of the health care team at UI Stead Family Children's Hospital.

Child Life members with Corrin and Nacho
Support the facility dog program at UI Stead Family Children's Hospital through our facility dog program wishlist

Locations and Offices

Child Life Program
22130-C
Public Elevators, Level 2
1-319-356-4469
[email protected]
Resource Office
Exterior photo of the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital
In Stead Family Children's Hospital
200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242

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Child life specialist Kristen Rooney helps prepare a pediatric patient for an MRI using a Lego model of a machine on Friday, February 24, 2023. Patient consent on file.
Stead Family Children's Hospital

200 Hawkins Drive
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