October 13, 2026- Midmark Corp. recently welcomed Dayton Children’s Canine Co-Pilots to its Versailles campus as part of the company’s ongoing support of the hospital. The Oct. 8 event gave Midmark Teammates an opportunity to meet some of the facility dog handler team as well as two of Dayton Children’s facility dogs. The facility dog handlers are part of the hospital’s Child Life team, and they discussed the important role the handlers and their dogs play in supporting children and families during hospital visits. The facility dogs work alongside the handlers and are specially trained to help comfort children during medical procedures, encourage movement and activity, ease anxiety and provide emotional support during difficult or unfamiliar experiences.
The event is part of a series of fundraising activities Midmark Teammates are supporting for Dayton Children’s this year, including café roundups, opportunities to donate directly to the Canine Co-Pilot Program and additional fundraising activities planned in the coming months. During the Oct. 8 event, Midmark also presented a $7,500 check to Dayton Children’s in support of the hospital’s K99.1FM Cares for Kids Radiothon on Oct. 23. In addition to the company’s sponsorship, Midmark Teammates will volunteer to answer phones during the radiothon.
The event also provided an opportunity to consider the human-animal bond more broadly. The emotional connection people have with animals – whether with specially trained dogs in a healthcare setting or with their own pets – can contribute to health and well-being.
Research has examined the potential benefits of animal-assisted interactions in healthcare. In a 2019 controlled clinical trial led by Indiana University School of Medicine, just 15 minutes with a certified therapy dog and handler reduced median anxiety scores among emergency-department patients from 6 to 2, while anxiety remained unchanged in the usual-care group.