CHOP Facility Dog Dilly Retires After Six Years
Yellow lab Dilly, the children's hospital's first full-time facility dog, retired on October 8, 2026, with fanfare from staff and patients.
Updated on Nov. 14, 2026 in Dogs
Dilly, a yellow lab and the first full-time facility dog at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, retired on October 8, 2026. She had worked five days per week since the summer of 2020, comforting patients across CHOP locations.
Why it matters
Dilly's retirement marks the end of a pioneering role for therapy animals in a major Philadelphia pediatric hospital, where facility dogs provide emotional support to patients during stressful medical care. Her departure leaves her half-sister Nettle as the remaining facility dog at CHOP.
Dilly served six years at CHOP on a five-days-per-week schedule, working mostly at the Philadelphia campus and also visiting the King of Prussia location and the Behavioral Health and Crisis Center on Cedar Avenue. She was trained by Susquehanna Service Dogs before beginning her hospital work.
The players
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
CHOP is a major pediatric hospital in Philadelphia that operates facility dog programs to support patients during medical care.
Susquehanna Service Dogs
Susquehanna Service Dogs is an organization that trains assistance and service dogs, including Dilly before her work at CHOP.
The details
Dilly specialized in providing comfort to hospital patients and worked alongside Lizzy Olsen, a child life specialist who became the facility dog program coordinator at CHOP. Secondary handlers known as 'favorite aunties' also worked with her, and her retirement was marked with fanfare from employees and patients.
Timeline
Summer 2020: Dilly began full-time work at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
October 8, 2026: Dilly retired from CHOP.
Culture Shift
Dilly's retirement follows the spread of hospital facility dog programs as pediatric centers increasingly use animal-assisted support to ease patient anxiety. CHOP's plan to add more pets in the future signals that this model is expanding rather than ending with Dilly's departure.
Philadelphia families whose children receive care at CHOP may see facility dogs during hospital visits, as the program continues with Nettle. Patients and visitors can expect fewer full-time canine comfort visits while the hospital works toward adding more pets.
The takeaway
Facility dogs can offer patients comfort during stressful hospital stays, and programs like CHOP's show how a single trained animal can build lasting connections with staff and families.
Further reading
Explore more dog stories from Philadelphia to see how local pets are part of community life.
Source note: This article includes information reported by 6abc Action News.
