KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When most people check in to the Ronald McDonald House of Kansas City, it’s because their family is battling a challenging medical diagnosis.
The charity does all it can to put a smile on the faces of its guests, including having a “director of goodness” on staff.
“Benson can bring anybody’s day up,” explained Kelley Van Towle.
Van Towle is the family room manager for Ronald McDonald House, but also Benson’s handler.
Benson is a service dog. His title of director of goodness is an acronym for dog. Benson is a 3-year-old poodle-Bernese mountain dog mix.
“I hope he recognizes me. I think he does,” McKenna Matteson said.
Matteson, 17, and her family live full-time in Oregon. For about six weeks a year, the family spends time at the Ronald McDonald House in Kansas City while Matteson undergoes treatments and therapies for radiation fibrosis syndrome.
She went through radiation therapy to treat a brain tumor at age 2, but the treatment damaged the muscles in her neck and shoulders, causing her intense pain. There is no cure.
“Benson is just such a good dog. He’s so attentive, he’s playful and he’s fun," said Laura Matteson, McKenna's mother. "It definitely gives a break from the not-so-fun stuff we have to do."
Benson has worked at Ronald McDonald House for two years. He is considered a full-time employee who gets vacation days just like a human.
Van Towle said when people see her, their first question is, "Where’s Benson?"
“A lot of times we’ll hear, ‘We didn’t know we needed this today, we didn’t know we needed these pets today.’ It really does just bring a lot of happiness to people’s hearts,” Van Towle said.
McKenna wants to keep that happiness going. She plans to become a service dog trainer after graduating high school this year.
Ultimately, she’d love to visit children in hospitals with a service dog like Benson.
“I would feel like am I supposed to be the sick one,” she said. “But I think I would relate to the kids, put an extra touch.”
For the past eight years, and continuing again this year, the Kansas City Chiefs raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City during the first Red Friday of the regular season.
The team sells flags for $5 with the money going to the charity.
Ronald McDonald House gives mostly out-of-town families with sick children a place to stay for free while they’re in Kansas City for treatments and procedures at hospitals like Children’s Mercy. The rooms at the charity’s three-house campus on Hospital Hill are booked every night.
To find out where to buy a Red Friday flag on Sept. 9, consult this online map. You can also buy flags online.
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