Feb. 6, 2026 – Meet Marley! Marley is a certified therapy dog through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. She provides social and emotional support for patients and employees at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Greenville. In addition to bringing joy to the hospital each day, Marley has recently begun practicing animal-assisted therapy skills. These skills include walking on a leash with patients or allowing patients to brush her to assist with attention, awareness and coordination of a certain side of the body. These activities are part of Encompass Health Greenville’s Realistic Environment Applied Learning (REAL) Therapy program, which helps patients work toward regaining independence through simulating everyday tasks.
Patients and staff have had an overwhelmingly positive response to Marley. Patient satisfaction and employee engagement scores have increased since she joined the team.
“Our therapy department has been great at identifying patients who would benefit from a social or emotional visit from Marley, as well as patients who can interact with her for goal-directed activities,” said Therapy Manager Jill Strawn.
Strawn believes therapy dogs add a different dimension to patient care. Interactions with Marley have sparked conversations about pets patients may have at home or feelings about their situations. These types of conversations allow therapists to see patients more wholly, allowing for deeper connection and care.
“I've had many patients light up when they see Marley,” said Physical Therapist Elizabeth Grier. “So many people look forward to coming to the gym daily just to get a look at Marley or get to pet her. Sometimes I get to see people's true personalities for the first time after a major injury or illness when they see Marley, pet her, and start to talk about their own pets. She's a great conversation starter and even a great way to take people's mind off their pain as well.”
Strawn is excited about Marley’s future. Currently, she is researching ways Marley can play a larger role in therapies, such as becoming certified in animal-assisted therapy. This certification includes targeted therapy training requiring the animal to be off-leash. For now, Strawn says Marley is happy providing a calming and fun presence to staff and patients.
