Therapy Dogs Make Students Feel Right at Home

When students head off to college, it's perfectly normal for them to experience a mix of emotions.

Thanks to Rune, Thor and now a new friend, Heddy, students have plenty of reasons to feel better.

The College of Health and School of Social Work welcomed the newest therapy dog to the Cleveland State University community in August. Heddy is certified to work with CSU's veterinary social worker Aviva Vincent, Ph.D. through Canine Companions and Animal Assisted Intervention Professionals. She will be on campus Mondays and throughout the week by request.

Dr. Vincent practices social work at the intersection of the human and animal bond, which is the focus of her current research, teaching and work within the community.

"I don't know if Rune and Thor knew they wanted another friend, but their human-handlers were whole-heartedly inviting for more paws on campus," she said. "I started at CSU in the social work department a year ago and knew that it was important to have a therapy dog with me on campus."

Heddy was puppy-raised by a volunteer with Canine Companions with the intent of becoming a service dog. When she graduated to training at the main facility (also known as "puppy college"), she demonstrated that she had a greater interest in bringing joy to all people, instead of being dedicated to one person. After being released from service dog school, they matched her with Dr. Vincent through their therapy dog program.

"We've been training together since February of 2024," said Dr. Vincent. "Together, we have certifications through Canine Companions Therapy Dog program, Animal Assisted Intervention Professionals, and AKC Canine Good Citizen - yes, Heddy is a very good citizen."

With the support of Cleveland State University Police Chief Beverly Pettrey, who oversees the therapy dog program through the CSU police department, as well as. Chris Mallett, Ph.D. and Dean Stephanie Brooks of the College of Health, Heddy was approved to join the campus community and officially began on Aug. 27.

Another unique aspect about Rune and Thor is that their handlers are CSU police officers and that the actual therapy dog program began within the department.

"While it is (more) common to see therapy dogs in police and fire stations, it is not common for an officer - let alone two - to have the role of therapy dog handler, year-round, to serve a university," said Dr. Vincent. "An intentional aspect of the program was to bridge a relationship between the CSU officers and the campus community, which is evident from the responses we received from the survey."

SURVEY SAYS…

Recently, a therapy dog survey completed on campus more than proved that our furry friends play a major role in the overall health and wellbeing of everyone on campus. Close to 1,400 students, faculty and staff took the time to answer a short 10-question survey over the course of April and May to provide their thoughts on the benefits of having Rune, Thor and now Heddy on campus.  

"Because research requires structure, we often hear about the impact of therapy dogs during midterms/finals or serving a very specific group of people, like residents in a nursing department," said Dr. Vincent. "Our study is different because we asked all members of the campus community - students, faculty and staff - about their experiences with Rune and Thor. The survey sought to explore where the dogs are impactful, why people enjoy being with them and what they want more of."

She also explained the context was important because there is evidence that the dogs receive innately positive responses, so the questions were not limited to something as simple as, "Do you like the dogs?" but rather, "Why do you like the dogs?"

"This nuance is novel and helped us understand the most important factors of CSU's therapy dog program," said Dr. Vincent. "In the words of respondents, the dogs provide catharsis and de-stressing, mental health support and remembering home (connection and belonging)."

The survey was accessed 1,392 times with 1,038 complete responses. Of the respondents, 18 percent never met the dogs, 15 percent met them once, 39 percent met them two-to-five times, 13 percent met them six-to-10 times and 14 percent met them more than 10 times.

The words "finals" and "midterms" were only referenced 40 times. This is important and interesting since most therapy dog programs focus on volunteers from the community bringing their therapy dogs to campus during finals. What this shows us is that students, staff, and faculty seek out, visit, and benefit from Thor and Rune year-round.

Here's what some participants had to say (edited for brevity):

"Last semester, I was suffering from anxiety. I was walking through the Student Center one day and felt like I was barely hanging on when I spotted Rune. My dog at home is usually my safety net. I went straight toward Rune and just sat on the floor with him, and he seemed to sense how I felt. He kept me from slipping into a public panic attack that day."

"During my initial days of joining the college, I missed my dog at home a lot. When I first saw Rune during an event at the Wolstein Center, I became emotional, as it reminded me of my dog. Rune gave me a sense of comfort when I interacted with him."

A peer-reviewed publication based on the survey is currently in the works and will be made available to those interested when it is published. For more information, e-mail Dr. Vincent at [email protected].

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