Marshall Health Network Therapy Dog’s Legacy Lives on Through the Patients She Helped

Laykin Hayes and Macy sit together outside Proctorville Animal Clinic.

When Laykin Hayes was 15, she was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare, aggressive type of bone cancer that primarily affects children and young adults. She spent the following year in and out of inpatient treatment at Hoops Family Children’s Hospital.

“Usually when people saw me back then, they saw me as the kid with cancer,” Hayes said. “But when you bring in the therapy dog, they don’t care that you have cancer. They just want pets. It’s a sigh of relief to have this giant, fluffy golden retriever that wants to come and sit with you.”

That giant, fluffy golden retriever was Macy, owned by Marshall Health Network volunteer Susie Eavenson. A therapy dog since 2019, Eavenson and Macy were frequent visitors to the hospital, particularly for oncology patients. In May, however, Macy’s breathing became a concern, and Eavenson took her to Proctorville Animal Clinic, where Hayes, a now healthy 22-year-old, works as a veterinary assistant.

“Laykin comes in and goes, ‘Macy, I remember you! You took care of me when I was in the hospital, and now I get to take care of you,’” Eavenson recalled. “I thought I would collapse right there. Someone Macy had helped was now healthy and giving back.”

Macy sadly passed away in July, but her full-circle relationship with Hayes shows the legacy and impact she and other MHN therapy dogs leave on patients.

“When you are in the hospital, you almost go stir crazy,” Hayes said. “You have nurses who check on you, but if you are immunocompromised like I was, you can’t walk around. You have your bed, the walls and your IV pump. Having therapy dogs on the floor gives you something to look forward to and it’s not something scary. You get to not be the sick kid for a minute – you get to be the kid that wants to pet a dog.”

Laykin and Macy

Evenson also knows firsthand the comfort a therapy dog can bring. Her daughter, Meg, battled osteosarcoma for eight years before she passed away in 2019.

“Whenever a therapy dog would come on the floor, the first thing Meg would do is talk about her golden retriever,” Eavenson said. “She’d show them pictures. They would bring the dogs to her first.”

Macy often accompanied Eavenson wherever her daughter was receiving treatment. When Meg was diagnosed as terminal, she told her mother she had the perfect dog to be a therapy dog.

“That’s what led us down this path,” Eavenson said. “It was a mission to help my heart heal.”

Eavenson said nothing made Macy happier than pulling out her green volunteer bandana. And in turn, Macy made the day of everyone she encountered happier.

“The whole point of volunteering is to touch lives,” Eavenson said. “My favorite part is being out in public and how many people have approached me to say, 'Aren’t you Macy’s mom?’ There is nothing more flattering than having someone remember her name.”

Hayes was happy she was able to give back to Macy in her time of need.

“I love what I do,” Hayes said. “Just like Macy, you get to give back to those close to you. It’s a tight-knit community, and I get to see dogs I never thought I would see again. That’s what solidified that I made the right choice for a career.”

Eavenson encourages anyone who thinks they have an animal with the right temperament to get them certified as a therapy animal. She is currently training a young Australian labradoodle named Bentley and hopes to return to the hospital soon.

To learn more about volunteering at a Marshall Health Network facility, visit www.marshallhealthnetwork.org/patients-and-visitors/volunteer-services.