DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — A new medical training room is opening in Decatur — but it’s not for doctors, nurses, or surgeons.

Pawprint Ministries operates 45 comfort dog teams in Central Illinois, providing support in hospitals and cancer care centers. Now, all of the dogs can be trained to assist people in real-life hospital environments.

“We subject our dogs to numerous scenarios during training so that when they are deployed for service, they are prepared and ready,” Jennifer Dahn, founder and executive director of Pawprint Ministries, stated.

Pawprint Ministries is a local comfort dog organization that has served Central Illinois since 2014.

“Our dogs go out into hospitals, nursing homes, cancer care centers, schools, disasters, libraries, anywhere we’re called to serve,” Dahn said.

This requires specific and strict training.

“We noticed that we were needing a location to train our canines around medical equipment,” Dahn said.

They consequently established a hospital training simulation lab. This setup helps dogs get accustomed to hospital beds, beeping noises, and wheelchairs within a hospital room.

“It helps them learn how to navigate the IV tubing and help with proper paw placement. Our dogs have a ‘paws up’ command,” Dahn said.

A volunteer at Pawprint said that while the dogs see a lot of people’s best days, they often are there for their worst.

“It’s challenging for the dogs. They encounter a lot of different situations. It’s astounding the number of scenarios you train for that you don’t anticipate being an issue,” Libby Cross, a volunteer at Pawprint Ministries, remarked.

Preparing the dogs is no simple task, but the new training room gives them the tools they need to do it right.

“It takes a lot of concentration and patience and just a lot of repetition to get them to the place they need to be to serve,” Cross said.

Both Cross and Dahn are overjoyed about the new training space because they see first-hand the joy their dogs bring.

“Our dogs walk in with unconditional love and they’re just ready to give a hug. And when the world is crumbling, that’s what you need,” Dahn said.

Pawprint Ministries is volunteer based, and they pay for each owner and their dog to be trained.

It takes about two years to train a dog and costs $5,000.

Pawprint Ministries is organizing a tailgate parking lot fundraiser at their business on September 20 at 11 a.m. The event will have food, games, an auction, and plenty of dogs.