Beacon, the Golden Retriever, helps USA Gymnastics with mental health

This 4-year-old golden retriever named Beacon has taken the internet by storm for his work with the USA Gymnastics team.

He provides pet-assisted therapy to team members and even has his own Instagram account.

In his biography, he is proclaimed to be “the best boy” and likes to “make friends everywhere”.

Beacon gained national recognition after Team USA gymnast Sunisa Lee posted photos of Beacon on Instagram in June during trials, captioning the post “thank god for Beacon.”

Several media outlets have reported that Beacon is the first therapy dog ​​for USA Gymnastics.

Beacon also works more outside of the Olympics. He is also a pet-assisted therapy dog ​​for Huntington Hospital in California.

Beacon’s owner, Tracey Callahan Molnar, has been involved with USA Rhythmic Gymnastics for four decades, according to Huntington Health.

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Molnar and Caroline Hunt, the vice president of rhythmic gymnastics for USA Gymnastics, came up with the idea of ​​trying to integrate pet-assisted therapy to help athletes de-stress.

“Being able to mix things that I love and that are important to me personally was something I never thought I’d have the chance to do. I love my dog. I love gymnastics. I love providing animal-assisted therapy and am a big believer in volunteering,” Molnar said in a news release shared with Scripps News.

She began volunteering with Huntington in 2014, first with her dog Tulsa and now with Beacon.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, simply petting a dog can decrease cortisol, the stress hormone, and increase oxytocin, the feel-good hormone.