Broward Children's Center Introduces Animal-Assisted Therapy Program with Certified Therapy Dog

Broward Children’s Center (BCC) – a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving infants, children and young adults who are developmentally disabled and medically fragile and their families – is proud to continue its commitment to delivering the highest quality of care to medically fragile children and has launched a new animal-assisted therapy program at its Children's Comprehensive Care Center (CompCare). The Animal-assisted Therapy program is anchored by Wrigley, a one-year-old Boston Terrier certified therapy dog and marks a new chapter in the facility's approach to whole-child care at the only freestanding sub-acute pediatric skilled nursing facility in the Southeast United States.

CompCare, located in Pompano Beach, is a 36-bed, freestanding, pediatric skilled nursing facility that serves children and young adults from birth to 21 years old who have medically complex conditions and are medically stable. The newly renovated 15-bed nursery serves newborns to eight-year-olds.

The Animal Assisted Therapy program grew from an idea by CEO Marjorie Evans and CompCare Director of Nursing Meghan Nesom, MS, BSN, RN, who recognized the profound impact Wrigley's informal visits had on residents, especially an eight-year-old boy named Sam. Wrigley is the pet of Nesom, who would frequently bring him to visit the children. Once she realized the human-animal bond helped improve the children’s wellbeing and quality of life, Evans encouraged Wrigley’s formal certification as a therapy dog.

Sam arrived at BCC’s CompCare after a terrible car accident changed everything. Sam was left with a spinal cord injury that took away his ability to move his arms and legs and breathe on his own. What followed were months in a pediatric intensive care unit, where machines hummed constantly and days blurred together. When he was finally stable, he moved to rehab, only to return to the ICU again for complications. By the time he was cleared for long-term pediatric care, Sam had learned something no child should learn so young: how to protect himself by shutting the world out.

In 2025, Sam was flown from Texas to BCC’s CompCare. He arrived with a small collection of belongings and a heart that had quietly decided not to hope too much. The BCC staff was ready to welcome him and help him heal and grow into this new version of life, but Sam was not ready. He was quiet, withdrawn, and his answer to almost everything was a simple, automatic “no.” That was until the day he met Wrigley.

Now, Sam is not the quiet, guarded boy who arrived with “no” as his shield but a child full of humor, preference, curiosity, and joy.

Nesom now manages BCC’s Animal-Assisted Therapy program and personally funded all of Wrigley's training. Wrigley officially joined the program in January 2026, after completing his training as an AKC Canine Good Citizen, having been trained and tested through a private dog therapy company. He visits the facility three to five days per week , and all visitations are supervised. Wrigley is current on all vaccinations and receives regular veterinary care. His parents were temperament tested prior to breeding.

BCC’s mission centers on maximizing the potential of every child in its care, and the animal-assisted therapy program reflects that commitment in action. Animal-assisted therapy addresses emotional support, anxiety reduction and trauma recovery, needs that are especially acute among CompCare's medically complex population. Dogs offer something clinical interventions alone cannot: unconditional acceptance. Wrigley does not distinguish between a child in a wheelchair and one who is developmentally delayed. He simply offers love, and that nonjudgmental presence has proven transformative for residents.

Animal-assisted therapy contributes to individuals’ well-being, supporting physical health and improving cognitive, emotional-affective, and social aspects, leading to enhanced emotional well-being, reduced anxiety, and decreased stress levels.

“Sometimes healing doesn’t come from medicine or machines. Sometimes, it comes on four small paws, with bright eyes and a wagging tail and the simple, life-changing gift of being seen, exactly as you are,” said Nesom. “Wrigley has given our residents something that no clinical intervention can replicate: the feeling of being loved without condition. For children who have faced significant medical challenges, that unconditional acceptance from a therapy dog like Wrigley is profoundly healing. It builds their courage to try, to engage, and to want more out of each day.”

CompCare offers long-term care to some of the most medically fragile and technologically dependent infants, children, and young adults in the nation. The highly qualified and experienced staff delivers state-of-the-art medical, educational, therapeutic and recreational care to residents based on individual needs.