Capt. Greg Geisler (left) shaking hands with Shiloh after promoting him to Captain. Mary Justice, Shiloh’s handler, is accompanying him. Credit: Courtesy of The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center
Shiloh — an English cream golden retriever and member of Ohio State’s Buckeye Paws program — was honorarily promoted to Ohio Air National Guard captain Friday, sealing the deal with a handshake.
Capt. Greg Geisler and Lt. Col. Cassidy Devins of the Ohio Air National Guard held a promotion ceremony for Shiloh, who previously held the rank of first lieutenant, at the Ross Heart Hospital — located at 452 W. 10th Ave.
According to its website, the Buckeye Paws program, founded in March 2020, was created to support the mental and emotional well-being of Wexner Medical Center staff through trained and certified therapy dogs.
The tale of how Shiloh and the Air Force crossed paths started with the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, the Ohio National Guard activated soldiers to provide humanitarian relief, which included organizing pop-up COVID-19 testing sites and supporting civilian hospitals overwhelmed with staffing shortages, Devins said.
Geisler was called to assemble teams in the emergency departments at the Wexner Medical Center and Mount Carmel East Hospital, whereas Devins worked as a staff nurse at the James Cancer Hospital and its outpatient hematology transplant clinic.
During Geisler’s time at the Wexner Medical Center, he said he became eligible for promotion from lieutenant to captain and requested a small ceremony. Shiloh attended the ceremony in January 2022, during which Geisler received his new captain’s patch and pinned his old lieutenant patch on Shiloh.
“For the next several years, I would cross paths with Shiloh while working in the hospital, each of us going about our service to the patients and the staff of the university’s hospital,” Geisler said in his speech at Friday’s ceremony. “The first lieutenant’s patch remained on his harness, symbolizing devotion to duty and duty validated by service to others. Today, we honor Shiloh’s service in a symbolic manner with a promotion to captain after completing sufficient time in the grade as lieutenant.”
Mary Justice, Shiloh’s handler and cofounder of the Buckeye Paws program, said the promotion was a validation of what the program sets out to do: care for the people who care for the people.
It is a significant milestone that Buckeye Paws, which exclusively served the Wexner Medical Center upon its launch, has been recognized by the military for its meaningful impact, Justice said.
“We’re very honored,” Justice said. “And he’s going to wear that patch with a lot of honor and make sure that we’re caring for the military as well.”
From his days as a lieutenant to his recent promotion, Shiloh has been embraced by military members as one of their own, Justice said. He said Shiloh’s military status has strengthened the relationship between Buckeye Paws and the military community.
Shiloh with his new captain’s patch (left) pinned to his harness. Courtesy of The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center
“It means that we have another opportunity to reach out to our first responders — because a lot of our first responders are military — to be there for them when they are having a tough day,” Justice said. “There is a connection now.”
Devins said it is also important for healthcare workers to take care of themselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Considering Buckeye Paws’ mission to foster joy in stressful work environments, she said the program helps healthcare workers understand that service before self does not mean excessive sacrifice.
“I currently work at the James Outpatient Care unit as the assistant manager, and I don’t know about anyone else’s units, but anytime we hear that a Buckeye Paws dog is coming — or we see one before we hear it — it is a race to get out of the nurse’s station,” Devins said in her speech Friday.
Though Shiloh’s promotion is purely symbolic, Geisler said it is still important to recognize acts of service, which are exactly what Shiloh and Buckeye Paws carry out every day.
“Shiloh absolutely embodies service to others, service to the community, through his everyday actions in the Buckeye Paws program,” Geisler said. “So, it feels great to recognize people and dogs who do good for their community.”
