The first time Becca Hale witnessed a hospital patient cry was during a visit; it wasn’t from pain, it was from joy. The woman hadn’t touched a dog in six months until Hale’s yellow Labrador, Huck, gently placed his head on her lap.
“She just started crying,” said Hale, a Tallahassee native and animal therapy volunteer of more than eight years. “She missed having that interaction. So we went and visited her almost every day until she passed away.”
What started as one animal therapy support team has gradually grown into 225 teams today, serving more than 150 facilities.
And, to celebrate 40 years of service, therapy animals and their human partners are now honored in color and compassion following the July 24 unveiling of a mural covering an exterior wall at the TMH Animal Therapy Training Center, 1301 E. Sixth Ave. The center is known for its connection to linking therapy animals with patients throughout the Big Bend.
Nigel Allen, president and chief advancement officer of the TMH Foundation, spoke of how the mural represents the legacy of compassion inherent in the therapy program’s mission.
Allen, who served as president of the Big Bend Hospice Foundation from 2012-2018, recalled a memory that shaped his perspective on the value of animal therapy. Several years ago, he encountered Ricky, a golden retriever who was the first therapy dog in Florida to accompany a child during a criminal deposition.
“I remember asking if I could hug her,” Allen said, “And in that moment, I felt peace move through me. I don’t know what it was, but I never felt like that before, so the impact she had on so many patients was amazing.”
Ricky’s comfort enabled a young survivor of sexual assault to feel secure enough to testify, illustrating the significant ways therapy animals assist individuals beyond hospital settings.
“This program reaches people in courtrooms, schools, hospice centers, places where healing isn’t always about medicine,” Allen said. “It’s about connection. And it’s why this mural is so meaningful, it honors that emotional bond.”
The mural features a representation of animals providing healing and comfort in the Big Bend region: a dog, a cat, a rabbit, a horse, a bird, and a guinea pig are all displayed.
Nancy Upthegrove, a local artist, spent three weeks hand-painting the mural after weeks of sketching compositions and receiving feedback from the TMH team. She told the Tallahassee Democrat that the word “joy” was significant throughout her creative process and interactions with passersby.
“Joy. That’s my word,” Upthegrove told the Tallahassee Democrat. “When I was working on the painting, I had people literally pull into the parking lot, and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, it brings so much joy. it makes me smile. And what is this all about?’ The comments of everybody saying how it makes them smile, and so I think really just bringing joy to people.”
That emphasis on joy captured in colorful, creative strokes of color resonated with the public on the morning of July 24. That included Caroline Gardner, behavioral health navigator at Whole Child Leon, Inc., whose curiosity was piqued by the images.
“It makes me happy to know that support is out there when you’re going through something hard,” she said. “I didn’t even know they visit places like courthouses, that’s incredible.”
“It means everything,” Stephanie Perkins, director of Animal Therapy at TMH, said at the ceremony. “This mural gives us a chance to reflect, honor, and celebrate the hundreds of volunteers, both human and animal, who’ve carried this program forward for 40 years.”
The newly revealed mural now serves as a permanent reminder that healing starts with a paw and a moment of connection.
For more information on ways to support the Animal Therapy program, visit TMH.org/animaltherapy
Tallahassee Democrat writer Joel Mitchell can be reached at jmitchell@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Fur-ever remembered: TMH unveils mural honoring 40 years of animal comfort
Reporting by Joel Mitchell, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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