BUTLER TWP — In the late fall, a furry, four-legged employee at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at Butler Health System will comfort and cheer patients and support group members, but his name will remind the staff to greet everybody with a great big smile.

Stacy Meyer, oncology patient manager at the cancer center, which is in the Butler Health System's Benbrook Medical Center, said the center will have a therapy dog in the near future.

“We feel a therapy dog would be wonderful for our patients and staff, especially in the times we are in now,” Meyer said. “He will comfort people and relieve stress, which is a natural immunity booster.”

She said the goldendoodle will come from a breeder in Medina, Ohio, when he is 8 weeks old.

The pup will live with Meyer, her husband and teenage daughter, and the family's bichon frise, Lily.

Meyer will attend classes with the puppy at Butler Dog Training Association, where they will spend eight weeks learning basic commands, manners and walking on a leash.

Another eight-week obedience class will end with the dog being certified by the association as a therapy dog.

“He and I will have to work hard,” Meyer said.

She had to select a name for the dog, who will be chosen according to intelligence and temperament from among the pups that will be born soon at the breeder in Ohio, so she chose “Henry”...or “Henrietta.”

“'Henry' is after somebody very special to me,” Meyer said. “A dear friend.”

The dog will be named after Henry Sinopoli, who died on Sept. 10 from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident.

Sinopoli, who was an educator, school superintendent, Boy Scout board member and general community leader, attended Meyer's support group sessions after being diagnosed with cancer a few years ago.

He continued to attend support group meetings even after he beat his cancer.

“He never missed a group and he always came with a huge smile,” Meyer said. “He was so eager to learn and to teach.”

She said the name “Henry” had been on her short list of names as she and Kris Bowser, development/events manager at Butler Health System, worked to get permission for a therapy dog at the cancer center.

“When I found out about his bike accident, I said 'Oh my God, the dog's name is going to be 'Henry,'” Meyer said.

Bowser felt the very same.

“I said 'Stacy, that's his name,'” she said. “It was like divine intervention.”

Meyer said the litter to include her therapy dog was born on Oct. 1, and included several females and one male.

She said if the male does not pass the tests given by the breeder to become a therapy dog, the cancer center's new addition will be named Henrietta.

Sinopoli's widow, Jocelyn, is thrilled that her late husband will be memorialized in such a meaningful way.

She will buy the dog's leash and collar, complete with an engraving of his name.

The leash and collar will be the same model used by the Sinopoli's dog, Bentley.

“Bentley went everywhere with Henry,” Meyer said. “He walked him every day, took him to the farm to run, and talked about Bentley all the time at support group.”

The puppy, which will be delivered to Meyer in late fall or early winter, is a much-anticipated addition to the cancer center.

“He's not even here yet and we are all in love with him,” Meyer said. “With everything happening in the world today, this dog is going to bring nothing but joy. He's going to be so spoiled.”

The lucky pup will have a bed in the treatment center and another in the support services office, as well as toys and bowls for the times when Meyer is completing work at her desk.

Meyer will make her rounds with her new sidekick to visit patients who are undergoing treatment or attending a support group at the Benbrook Medical Center on Monday, Tuesday and Friday.

The puppy will ride with Meyer on Wednesday and Thursday to medical oncology at the Butler Health System's Crossroads Campus to cheer patients and staff there.

“I think Henry or Henrietta will definitely impact employees as well,” Meyer said. “He'll make them smile and laugh again in an environment that is so somber.”

The goldendoodle breed was intentionally chosen because they do not shed, are hypoallergenic and enjoy interaction with people.

“They are a great breed for the public,” Meyer said.

Signs will be placed on the doors of the two oncology facilities alerting those entering of the canine's presence, and will advise them to tell a nurse if they do not wish to interact with the very special employee.

Bowser said a donation by the American Cancer Society from funds collected in a golf outing in memory of local man John Hanna was used to get Henry.

“John came to group and used our services,” she said.

Meyer said she feels Sinopoli would be thrilled with the idea of having a therapy dog at the cancer center, and doubly excited that the canine will be named for him.

“He would be elated,” Meyer said. “His dog was his best friend and he was so emotionally involved in the service I provide. He was my biggest cheerleader.”