“I think most of my patients come to the office to see Ranger.”

Stephanie Macke, DO, Stafford Pointe Family Physicians, laughs as she recalls how her family’s golden retriever went from a disobedient puppy to the office star.

“When Ranger was a year old, my husband asked if I thought about having Ranger become a service animal,” she said. “I thought this was a fantastic idea, and we found a training center willing to work with us to make this dream come true.”

After Ranger completed his training as a therapy dog, she approached her former employer and proposed a 12-week pilot study. “I wanted to see how patients responded to having Ranger there,” she said. “We monitored blood pressures before and after visits – everybody’s blood pressure dropped! New patients told me it was the first time they’d felt comfortable talking to a doctor. We also saw a bonus – staff morale went up.”

Ranger became the talk of the office! “On days he wasn’t there, patients would ask where he was?” she said. “Some people only schedule on what we call ‘Ranger days.’”

Although his visits in the wintry weather aren’t as frequent, Ranger joined Dr. Macke when she came to Hendricks Regional Health in 2024. While her role here is new, Dr. Macke is no stranger to our healthcare system. She and her family have been patients at Hendricks for 15 years!

Dr. Macke brings osteopathy and integrative medicine to her family practice. She is trained in acupuncture and is a functional medicine psychiatry fellow. “We see a lot of behavioral health in primary care,” she said. “Having Ranger in the office has helped patients better communicate their needs.”

Part of Dr. Macke’s interest in behavioral health is personal – several of her children are neurodiverse. Even as a trained physician, Dr. Macke found navigating the mental health system difficult. In an effort to help other parents and caregivers, she published a book to help ease the journey through the challenging psychological network. “It includes tips for getting the most out of an office visit,” she said. “I added worksheets and helpful resources I wish I had known at the beginning. Ranger also appears in the section I wrote on animal therapy!”

While nothing tops her roles as a loving wife, mother, and caregiver to her patients, Dr. Macke does entertain other dreams. She’s tossing around the idea of writing another book. And she says, “I want a farm with Highland cows.” We have every confidence this exceptional multi-tasker will achieve whatever she puts her mind to!