Beacon the therapy dog
Beacon, the golden retriever therapy dog for the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team, has returned home after surgery and a hospital stay.
The 4-year-old dog was taken to a pet hospital last week, where he was treated for a high fever and pleural effusion, a condition where excess fluid accumulates between the lungs and the chest wall. His owner, Tracey Callahan Molnar, explained that she took him to the hospital after noticing symptoms such as stiffness, labored breathing and fever.
In a Sept. 9 Instagram update, Molnar announced he is now home.
“Beacon has some appetite, eating some of his meals on his own and me hand feeding him the rest,” she wrote. “I’m happy to say, beacon ate his entire dinner on his own.”
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Molnar's health update included photos of his time in the hospital and later in good spirits on a drive with Molnar.
The post also noted that she and Beacon are still holding out for a diagnosis and a treatment plan.
"Beacon is not out of the woods yet but i’m not sure we could have even gotten to today without your help," she wrote toward the end of her post. "A huge and heartfelt thank you to all of you!"
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Users responded to the post with well wishes and concern.
"Hopefully recovery at home proves to be the best medicine. Sending positive thoughts and virtual treats," one user replied.
"Praying it's not serious and he's going to be fine," another replied. "Beacon has inspired me to sign up to a charity for my own golden retriever to be a therapy dog volunteer."
Beacon became a fan favorite during the 2024 United States Olympic gymnastics team trials in June because of the support he provided to athletes like Suni Lee and Simone Biles. Read on for more about him.
Beacon's health timeline
On Sept. 4, Molnar shared on Instagram that Beacon had been admitted to an emergency pet hospital the day before.
"This is an incredibly difficult post to make. I’ve decided to share this now because beacon has 50k + followers and i know that can mean 50k + people sending him wishes for healing and good health," she wrote at the time.
Molnar expressed her hope that Beacon's legion of followers — currently 56,000 and counting — would send him “wishes for healing and good health.”
Molnar added that Beacon was not reacting to treatments, including anti-inflammatory meds and cold laser therapy. According to the post, X-rays “showed fluid in his chest cavity, which was at least in part the reason for the labored breathing.”
“The high fever was of great concern to his veterinarian. The recommendation was to transport him to an emergency hospital with specialists who could diagnose and begin to treat him,” the message continued.
Molnar noted that while Beacon had undergone some diagnostic tests, more had to be completed.
“My understanding is that there are many potential causes therefore, many things to rule out,” she wrote, adding that she would keep his faithful followers updated.
Days later, on Sept. 6, Molnar shared that Beacon was still lethargic but “open to gentle hugs, pets and conversation” when she was visiting him at the hospital.
“We still don’t have definitive answers yet,” she wrote alongside a video collage of Beacon and her visit. “He has needed to have fluid removed from his chest cavity multiple times and during a procedure yesterday to take tissue samples from some concerning lung tissue (that showed on the CT scan he had), they placed two ports which will in part, make the drainage of that fluid easier. it’s something they will teach me to do so that he might be able to come home sooner.”
She added that his lung tissue biopsy would take five to seven days.
"During our visits, I read messages to Beacon from the autograph book that Milli, a rhythmic gymnast, so kindly gave Beacon," she wrote at the time. "I also read the comments from you that have been posted on Instagram. Please know that your comments mean so much to me and I really want Beacon to hear them as well. I want him to know how loved he is by so many."
Beacon is USA Gymnastics' first therapy dog
The Instagram page for Beacon, USA Gymnastics' first official therapy dog, is filled with snapshots of him with Olympians like Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, former Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman and Laurie Hernandez, and many more athletes.
In an interview with ESPN, Molnar said that Beacon was an “emotional sponge” for people competing.
“(Therapy dogs) absorb the stress of the people they’re relieving the stress off of,” she told ESPN. “So even though he might be lying still for two hours, he’s wiped out afterwards.”
Due to “challenges with logistics,” Beacon could not support Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, his Instagram noted on July 22.
“Beacon and i will be cheering our olympians on from california,” Molnar wrote on the post.
Beacon received Olympics-themed toys and, in late August, provided animal-assisted therapy at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York.
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