Category: Aircraft carrier therapy dog

Beacon, the therapy dog who provides emotional support to the US Olympic Gymnastics team, has been hospitalized on Tuesday, September 03.

The news was announced by the Golden Retriever’s owner and handler, Tracey Callahan Molnar, on the pooch’s Instagram page.

“Beacon was admitted yesterday to an emergency pet hospital after some symptoms he was having (stiffness, moving into labored breathing, and then fever) were not reacting to treatments (anti-inflammatory meds, cold laser therapy),” Callahan Molnar wrote.

Callahan Molnar also said that x-rays showed that Beacon has fluid in his chest cavity, which was part of the reason for the dog’s labored breathing.

However, the vet’s cause of concern was Beacon’s high fever. And that’s when the pooch was transported to an emergency pet hospital.

The therapy dog’s owner and handler reveals, “some diagnostics have been done but more to go. my understanding is that there are many potential causes therefore, many things to rule out.”

Furthermore, Callahan Molnar revealed, “he has needed to have fluid removed from his chest cavity multiple times and during a procedure yesterday to take tissue samples from some concerning lung tissue”.

“This is an incredibly difficult post to make,” Callahan Molnar said. “I’ve decided to share this now because beacon has 50k + followers and i know that can mean 50k + people sending him wishes for healing and good health.”

Among Callahan Molnar’s “biggest requests” is for people to send the four-year-old therapy dog good wishes, whether it be thoughts, prayers, virtual hugs, or in whatever form it comes.

Callahan Molnar promised Beacon’s followers to keep them posted and said, “We know that beacon provides animal assisted therapy but i hope you know that he loves people so much that the in-person interactions he had with so many of you are also meaningful to him.”

The USA Gymnastics posted about the news on their social media pages and wrote, “We’re wishing Good Boy Beacon a speedy recovery!”

Beacon is the USA Gymnastics’ first ever therapy dog. He provided much needed comfort and emotional support during the recent Olympics trial that ran from June 27 to 30.

Everyone loved him – from the athletes to the judges, Beacon was hard at work last June. You could even say that he stole the show and became a fan-favorite.

In an interview with ESPN, Callahan Molnar talked about Beacon saying, “He will turn on a dime without seeing who it is. He picks up on the stress and will pull to that person immediately.“

You can help Beacon towards his road to recovery by donating here.