When Nora Bennani, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hematologist, realized a lack of pet care could hinder patient care, she decided to create a solution.
Two years ago, Nora Bennani, M.D., a hematologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, encountered a heartbreaking barrier to care.
While completing her rounds, she visited a woman who’d developed sepsis after chemotherapy. Despite her severe infection, the patient wanted to leave the hospital.
“If she was not treated properly, she would die,” says Dr. Bennani. “I couldn’t understand what was going on. So, I sat down with her and asked, ‘What’s back home?'”
Her answer? Two dogs and a cat. “No one has the keys to my house,” the patient explained. “No one even knows they exist.”
Leaving her pets without care seemed worse than forgoing treatment. This patient isn’t alone. An Annals of Emergency Medicine study found that caring for animals is a primary reason patients go home against medical advice.
This moment was revelatory for Dr. Bennani. She had recently adopted her first dog, Sunny, a Great Pyrenees mix who quickly stole her heart. Her affection for Sunny helped her grasp the gravity of her patient’s anxiety.
“It made me cry,” says Dr. Bennani. “I said, ‘This should not happen. This is not OK.'”
With the patient’s permission, a Mayo Clinic social worker called the sheriff’s department. The officers entered her home and took her pets to a shelter for temporary care.
“It was not ideal, but I knew they were safe,” says Dr. Bennani.
She was determined to find a better solution.
Caring for the whole person
At the end of 2025, Sunny’s Helping Paws received its first referral — two cats, a bunny and a guinea pig. Though her plan was to focus on cats and dogs, Dr. Bennani quickly pivoted.
“We provide loving, temporary care for pets while the owner receives medical treatment,” says Dr. Bennani. “Pets are an important part of the healing journey. This is an important way to support patients through that journey.”
Every pet is placed with a trained guardian — one of many volunteers, including several Mayo staff, who make Sunny’s Helping Paws possible.
Some patients need help for a few hours during a procedure. Others need it for weeks. The 30-day recovery period following CAR-T cell therapy or a bone marrow transplant is a common request.
Whenever possible, the team goes the extra mile to meet patients’ needs.
Recently, Dr. Bennani drove to the Emergency Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea to pick up a service dog so the owner could be admitted and receive the care he needed. When a patient from Iowa needed help, the team told her to bring her two dogs to Rochester. They’d handle the rest.
“We treat their pets like our own,” says Dr. Bennani. “We give them the love that they are used to. We share pictures and videos with the owner to put their mind at ease.”
By keeping patients connected to their pets as they heal, Sunny’s Helping Paws helps support their mental health, a Community Health Needs Assessment priority for Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
When a woman tearfully sought to surrender her dog, Dr. Bennani gently asked the reason. The patient explained that she felt too sick to care for her pet after chemotherapy. That familiar feeling — It shouldn’t be this way — compelled Dr. Bennani to find another way.
She arranged for the patient’s pit bull to stay with a volunteer after each chemotherapy session. If the patient’s health declines, the volunteer will adopt the dog.
“She will know her puppy is in good hands,” says Dr. Bennani. “That’s a huge relief.”
As a physician who treats aggressive lymphomas, Dr. Bennani is painfully aware that she can’t cure every patient she sees. Sunny’s Helping Paws gives her another way to help.
“We look at the patient as a whole — as part of a family unit that includes pets,” she says. “This is putting the needs of the patient first,” one dog, cat or guinea pig at a time.
Support at other sites
Dr. Bennani’s goal is to bring Sunny’s Helping Paws to every Mayo Clinic site. In the meantime, these community resources are available:
Arizona
- Lost Our Home Pet Rescue and the Arizona Humane Society’s Project Home Away From Home offer temporary pet care during critical situations, including hospitalizations.
Florida
- The Jacksonville Humane Society provides emergency boarding. Priority goes to pets needing two weeks or less of care (there is an admission fee of $25–50).
- The Pet Assistance Program at Community Hospice & Palliative Care walks dogs, delivers pet food and helps with veterinarian visits for pets of hospice patients.
This article was originally published by the Mayo Clinic News Center.
