Packard Paws Pioneers Echo and Donatella Retire After Years of Service

After years of supporting patients and families, Echo and Donatella, two founding members of the Packard Paws Facility Dog Program at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, are retiring.

Together, the dogs have completed more than 4,000 patient sessions and helped lay the foundation for a program that includes eight facility dogs and continues to grow. Their retirement marks an important milestone for Packard Paws, and their legacy will continue through the next generation of facility dogs following in their paw prints.

A shared vision

Packard Paws began with a shared vision in 2017, when child life specialist Molly Marchand and physician assistant Alyssa Giacalone independently began exploring how specially trained dogs could encourage patients to overcome challenges and stressors during their pediatric care.

Giacalone’s belief in the healing power of the human-animal bond began while she cared for Honey, her grandmother’s cocker spaniel–dachshund mix, during her grandmother’s hospice care. She saw how Honey brought comfort and happiness to her grandmother while encouraging other residents to leave their rooms and connect with one another.

“I quickly became fascinated by the way an animal could break through barriers and bring connection, comfort, and joy in a health care environment,” Giacalone said.

The experience showed her the profound impact that animals can have on people’s well-being, social connections, and engagement.

Giacalone carried that experience with her when she joined Stanford Medicine Children’s Health in 2015 as a physician assistant in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery. There, she met Sandy Sentivany-Collins, who had previously worked with her dog Carly on the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford pain management team. The introduction inspired Giacalone to pursue a new project alongside her clinical responsibilities.

As Sentivany-Collins shared her knowledge and experience—from handler responsibilities to navigating the hospital with a dog—Giacalone began to see how a facility dog program could be integrated into care at Packard Children’s. She researched breeders specializing in dogs trained for service work, which led her to Echo. When they first met, Echo immediately ran to Giacalone and climbed into her lap.

While Giacalone was exploring ways that dogs could support patients, Marchand was working toward a similar goal. About six months after joining Stanford Medicine Children’s Health as a child life specialist, Marchand approached the child life director with a proposal for a program that would combine her love of animals with her commitment to supporting children.

Marchand studied programs at other children’s hospitals and began imagining what one could look like at Packard Children’s.

“Once I learned that other children’s hospitals had facility dog programs, I knew this was something I wanted to start here at Packard,” Marchand said.

Around the same time, she encountered Giacalone training Echo in the hospital’s perioperative area. Their ideas converged at just the right moment. Together, Marchand and Giacalone designed the Packard Paws program, working with the appropriate departments and stakeholders to establish policies and best practices.

Echo underwent extensive training around IV poles, wheelchairs, and other medical equipment. He also became familiar with hospital sounds, such as emergency alarms, so he could remain calm and focused in a complex pediatric care environment.

After about a year of training, Echo became Packard Paws’ first facility dog in January 2018. Around the same time, Marchand applied for a facility dog through Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit organization that provides trained facility dogs free of charge. She was matched with Donatella, known as Donnie, who began working at Packard Children’s in May 2018. Donnie is trained in over 40 commands designed to motivate and inspire patients.

Supporting patients through challenging moments

Packard Paws was created to help normalize the hospital and clinic environments, motivate patients to meet health care goals, and reduce stress and anxiety during hospital admissions, procedures and clinic visits. Through a structured animal-assisted approach, facility dogs can support pain management and emotional well-being, and help pediatric patients engage more fully in their care. Working alongside trained hospital employee handlers, facility dogs provide goal-directed therapeutic interventions tailored to each patient’s needs across outpatient surgery, intensive and acute care, pain management, trauma, neurology, and eating disorder programs. The teams also provide meaningful support to staff members during high-stress and traumatic clinical situations.

Echo’s calming presence has made a lasting impression on patients and families over the years at Packard Children’s.

Elena, whose child Joseph formed a special connection with Echo while receiving care at Packard Children’s, shared how the facility dog supported him during a difficult time:

“Echo provided Joseph with comfort when anxiety felt overwhelming and sadness took over. He helped Joseph process his emotions during moments when words weren’t enough. Echo made walks around the hospital floor something Joseph actually looked forward to—encouraging him to get up, keep moving, and find motivation even on days when he felt exhausted and discouraged.

“There were moments when Joseph just needed to be held, to cuddle and to feel warmth and unconditional love. Echo was there for him in those moments, lying beside him, offering comfort and reminding him he wasn’t alone. That support made an immeasurable difference in Joseph’s emotional well-being during such a fragile time.”

Donnie has made a similar impact on patients, including Darren Yap, who has been hospitalized at Packard Children’s for 11 months while awaiting heart and kidney transplants. Donnie’s bond with Darren has provided companionship and inspiration throughout his stay, giving him something to look forward to. His face lights up when she enters the room, and he enthusiastically calls out, “Donnie!”

Donnie visits Darren several times a week as an essential part of his care team. Her presence has helped him feel more at ease during procedures such as echocardiograms and vaccinations and it has encouraged him to participate in physical and occupational therapy.

From early in Darren’s rehabilitation, Donnie was a powerful motivator, helping him progress from a few steps with a walker to walking a full lap around the unit while holding her leash. During their first therapy session together, Darren walked farther than he had in previous sessions.

On more challenging days, Donnie makes movement feel like play through activities like hide-and-seek. Their connection even inspired Darren and his music therapist, Dan Stafford, to write a song called “I Love Donnie.”

Helen Ybarra, Darren’s child life specialist, creates opportunities to help him meet mobility goals while building connections with his care team. From lemonade stands and boba bars to popcorn parties, these activities encourage Darren to leave his room, move around the unit, and engage with staff members and other patients.

For Donnie’s retirement, that approach took the form of a treat bar with snacks, stickers, and balloons. Darren decorated his room and, with support from his care team and Donnie by his side, delivered treats throughout the unit to celebrate his friend.

Celebrating a lasting legacy

Echo and Donnie marked their final day on the job with a retirement party attended by patients, staff members, and the program’s other facility dogs.

Patients who know Echo and Donnie joined the celebration carrying plush toys resembling the dogs. The event also included a photo booth, games, dog-themed snacks, and heartfelt remarks from Marchand and Giacalone.

During the celebration, Sentivany-Collins received a plaque honoring her contributions to Packard Paws and recognizing the role that she and Carly played in developing the program.

Although Echo and Donnie are retiring, Packard Paws continues to grow to meet the increasing demand for facility dog support across clinical areas. The program’s six remaining dogs, generously donated by Canine Companions, will carry forward the legacy that Echo and Donnie helped create.

“Seeing what Packard Paws has become—and knowing that Echo and Donnie helped pave the way for the current and future dogs who will continue that work—is incredibly meaningful to me,” Giacalone said.

Although their service has come to an end, Echo and Donnie’s impact will remain with the patients, families, and staff members whose lives they touched.

Packard Paws is overseen by the Child Life and Creative Arts Department and made possible entirely by donor contributions. Special thanks to the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health for its support through Association of Auxiliaries for Children Endowment grants awarded in 2023 and 2026. The grants enabled the Packard Paws program to increase access to facility dog interventions by 80%.