Mike's Story

Michael "Mike" Falatach is a recipient of a 2023 Medical Mutual Outstanding Senior Volunteer Award. The program shines a spotlight on some of the most impactful yet unsung heroes across Ohio and celebrates older adults who selflessly give of their time and talent to help the people and communities around them.

At MetroHealth, Mike and his dogs volunteer with Loving Paws, a program that brings teams of therapy dogs and their handlers for short meet-and-greet sessions with patients, visitors and employees.

Mike's calling as a provider of healing through therapy dogs began 33 years ago, when his family got a "big, white and hairy" show-dog Great Pyrenees. They had the dog complete the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen training program, which teaches good manners to dogs and responsible dog ownership to their owners.

After that, Mike started doing therapy work with dogs. Since retiring, he has turned his volunteer work into an almost-full-time endeavor, training other dogs, mentoring dog owners, organizing and scheduling an entire corps of volunteer dog owners and, of course, visiting patients and caregivers at MetroHealth, other area hospitals, nursing homes, and more.

According to the award nomination, hugging, petting and loving Mike's dogs do different things for different people. For some patients, the interaction

s are simply comfort at a difficult time. For others, the dogs ease the sadness of being separated from their own pets. For MetroHealth employees, it's a comforting and boosting reprieve from a long shift of hard work.

The impact and inspiration of Mike and his dogs – and the network of handlers he's built and mentored – are truly immeasurable. In just the last three years, Mike's 600 visits have touched an estimated 50,000 patients, impacting their health and their lives, and inspiring them to become better owners of their own pets.

Mike's tireless passion to share the healing power of therapy dogs epitomizes the highest ideals of volunteer service: to give away our most precious resource, our time, to help and to serve our community and our neighbors.