The Therapy Dogs Program at Union’s Wicker Wellness Center is a student-favorite and has grown immensely since it first began. Students frequently visit Wicker to either play with dogs or take them out on short walks. Union currently has eight therapy dogs—Hunter, Margot, Sparky, Ace, Maeve, Contessa, Maui and Eve—all pets of Wicker Wellness employees.
However, the program wasn’t always this big. Joan Thompson, the program coordinator, spoke with us and provided more information about early years of the program, and what being a therapy dog entails for our furry friends. She shared that the program started in 2012 with just one dog, Jenna. Her puppies Murphy and Eve also grew to become therapy dogs, and Eve is still at Wicker. After their mom, a nurse at Wicker, left, Thompson took over as the program coordinator.
Though the program has always been popular among students, it picked up pace about five to six years ago as the need for it increased. Thompson recounts students showing up to Wicker and feeling disappointed if there weren’t any therapy dogs. Students loved spending time with the dogs, whether by taking them on walks or just playing with them.
This was especially the case in the fall since many students were homesick and the program provided them with a space to release their tension, feel better, and meet other students they could relate to. Current Union students still feel the same way. “I often take therapy dogs out for walks. They remind me of my dog back in India and since I miss her so much, I enjoy spending time with them whenever I can,” shared Narayani Yogi ’28.
Therapy dogs aren’t just called so because of their therapeutic effect on students, but get that title after undergoing a training process and acquiring their certification. The training includes puppy kindergarten, a canine good citizen test, obedience classes, and therapy dog classes.
Unlike service dogs, therapy dogs are not trained for specialized tasks, but they are trained to remain calm, obedient and focused while interacting with people. These dogs love people, and after their certification are able to walk with and interact with them calmly, avoid noise and distractions, and lift their spirits. Dogs can take this training at any time but need to be at least a year old in order to take the test together.
Wicker’s youngest pups, Maeve, Maui and Contessa, did their training and took their test together over the course of this past year, recently being certified as therapy dogs. Maeve is Thompson’s very own dog, along with Margot. In the early days of the program, her dog Mallie, who has since passed, was also a Union therapy dog.
Among the various services that Wicker Wellness offers, the therapy dogs remain one of its most popular offerings and students are encouraged to check them out when they can.
