The best medicine sometimes has fur

Meet the furry friends bringing comfort to Banner patients

6/19/2026

At Banner Children’s, healing can arrive with a wagging tail, a cheerful bear hug, and the kind of smile that changes the whole room. Meet two of Banner Health’s most beloved comfort-bringers: Dr. Bear and Gumby.

Since 2018, Dr. Bear has been spreading joy across Banner Children’s as a happy-go-lucky, dancing, cheering mascot with one very important job: helping hospitalized kids feel a little more normal. Behind the bear is Selima Martin, an Emergency Department Technician at Banner Desert Medical Center and the heart of the Dr. Bear Mascot Program.

A decade into her career at Banner, Selima is known for her encouragement, energy, and ability to connect with children. Dr. Bear helps transform the hospital environment into something warmer and less intimidating.

For Selima, the work is personal. She says her unique perspective as someone on the autism spectrum helps her see the world differently, and in many ways, through the eyes of a child. That perspective has become a gift to patients and families across Banner. Through more than 100 events across Banner Health, Dr. Bear has brought comfort, laughter, and light to children when they need it most.

And then there is Gumby, Banner Thunderbird’s resident facility dog that joined the team in February 2024 and quickly became part of the hospital family. The two year old white poodle was trained by Paws With a Cause and now works alongside his trained handlers to support patients and families in meaningful, developmentally appropriate and clinically supportive ways. He visits pediatric units, including oncology, and helps children cope with stressful moments, procedures and long hospital stays.

His work may look simple from the outside: sitting beside a child, walking the hallways, being brushed or petted, snuggling close on a hospital bed. But each interaction has a purpose. Gumby can help ease fear before a procedure, encourage mobility, offer distraction during treatment, support healthy coping skills, and bring a sense of safety and connection to an unfamiliar environment.

Many chronic patients have come to rely on Gumby and he has played a pivotal role, offering unconditional love and support to hundreds of people, including his primary handler, Lauren Katz. “It’s hard to imagine my job prior to Gumby,” says Lauren. “He has allowed me to connect with patients on a whole new level, helping patients open up to us more easily. As a result, our patients are coping better and experiencing less trauma during their hospitalizations.”

Dr. Bear and Gumby do more than brighten a room. They help soften the edges of a hospital experience for kids in times of fear and uncertainty. They give children moments of courage, comfort, and joy, help families relax, and remind us that exceptional health care is not only about treating illness, it’s about caring for the whole person.

Generous donors and community partners support a variety of programs that make the hospital experience more compassionate and healing, including Child Life, onsite hospital schools, toy closets, music therapy, pet therapy, celebrations of milestones, and more. To learn more about how you can support these programs, contact us.