Facility Dog Programmatic Effects on Individuals Working in High-Stress Environments

The purpose of the Pentagon Facility Dog (FD) program is to reduce work-related stress, increase task performance, and strengthen workforce social interactions. Reduction in consistent high stress is associated with greater resilience, positive biopsychosocial outcomes. This study evaluated programmatic effects on staff well-being and program feasibility. Specific Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenances included: (1) Evaluate programmatic effects on job-related stress. (2) Evaluate current levels of work-related burnout. (3) Understand how the program impacts teamwork or work performance from the perspectives of staff, leaders, and handlers in high-stress environments. (4) Describe FD well-being while engaging with staff in a high-stress environment.

We utilized a mixed-methods design guided by the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance framework. We measured work-related burnout, changes in stress following interactions, and conducted observations and interviews to understand the experiences of staff, leaders, and handlers related to workforce and FD well-being.

Study respondents represented 13% of staff and included a wide range of ages, military services, and experiences. Staff overwhelmingly valued the program. On average, participants reported a 19% reduction of stress following an interaction. Burnout scores were elevated for 52% of participants and those experiencing burnout had longer time on station, whereas pet owners were less likely to report burnout. We identified the following benefits through qualitative analysis: micro-breaks, enhanced communication, decreased individual stress, decreased group tension, caring leadership, improved job effectiveness, team cohesion, inter-team connectedness, connection to the outside world, brings out humanity, recruitment/retention. The dog demonstrated excellent sociability, exhibited limited stress signals, and was enthusiastic about the work, supporting feasibility.

Our study demonstrated facility dog programs are feasible and can significantly decrease stress and improve team effectiveness. Our findings represent early outcomes from the first four months of the program. Future studies should include measures before implementation and evaluate the potential to reduce burnout, a longer-term metric.