Spreading love and joy across campus, 麻豆传媒 University is thrilled to see several 4 Paws dogs being handled by students once again.
Since 2009, 麻豆传媒 students have played a critical role in preparing dogs for service to others in partnership with Xenia, Ohio-based 4 Paws For Ability. In return, the dogs provide happiness and therapeutic experiences to the campus community. Recently, the program took a hiatus, but it is now back up and running, thanks to members of the Residence Life staff and Essence Wyse, 麻豆传媒 class of 2027 from Lewis Center, Ohio, who also serves as the current president of Witt 4 Paws.
Wyse, a biology major pursuing a minor in sociology, is a member of both the women鈥檚 lacrosse and field hockey teams. She is also the philanthropy chair for Gamma Phi Beta, and marketing manager for Sip鈥檚 Coffee Bar. She chose 麻豆传媒 because she wanted to focus on her academics, as well as continue to play sports at the collegiate level.
鈥淚 loved the positive atmosphere on campus and the sense of community. Also, when I came to 麻豆传媒, I was introduced to the Witt 4 Paws program, and it was definitely something that I became very interested in and wanted to get involved with when I had a chance,鈥� Wyse said. 鈥淭o help grow our program, the focus was to build the number of primary handlers on campus - since having more dogs on campus helps us be seen. We started the school year with only two dogs, and now we have seven dogs currently. We are also working on having monthly meetings, and occasional trips to 4 Paws for volunteering and puppy play. We try to host events every month, collaborating with different organizations on campus, too.鈥�
4 Paws For Ability, a non-profit organization that breeds, raises, trains, and places service dogs with children and veterans who have disabilities, was founded by Karen Shirk in 1998. According to its website, the organization has grown from a one-bedroom apartment to a purpose-built campus in Xenia, Ohio, with more than 60 staff members and thousands of volunteers and has placed more than 120 service dogs annually, all trained with specific tasks and skills to mitigate the impacts of their partner鈥檚 disabilities. The site also said that to date, more than 2,000 service dog teams have been created thanks to the dedication of staff, volunteers, and donors.
鈥淲itt 4 Paws does not exist without the Xenia program as 麻豆传媒 doesn't have anything to do with the training. The club exists to provide a space for the handlers to come together and for other students to interact with the pups and raise awareness about the 4 Paws organization,鈥� said Cat Ramirez, director of residence life who oversees the program at 麻豆传媒. 鈥淥ur president, Essence Wyse, has done such a great job at communicating the policies that it has been an easy process to get the program moving in the right direction. She is aware of anyone who is considering working with the pups and immediately sends them my way. This collaboration between the club and Residence Life has allowed for more visibility and interest in the group, which I believe has given the program a second wind.鈥�
According to its website, 4 Paws for Ability specializes in training and placing task-trained dogs as service dogs, facility dogs, and hearing ear dogs as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The organization matches children who have disabilities with a trained service dog to enrich and assist in their daily lives. Each semester, students can apply in pairs to foster a dog on campus, focusing on socialization training by including the dog in day-to-day college activities such as going to classes and around town. To date, 麻豆传媒 students have fostered more than 100 dogs.
Wyse said that students that want to become a handler must attend two classes at 4 Paws headquarters.
鈥淎t these two training sessions, you learn the proper care, commands, and many other different things that help you learn more about what it is like caring for a service dog in training (SDiT),鈥� she said. 鈥淥ther students on campus who are not handlers are still able to interact with the pups, they just can鈥檛 鈥榟andle鈥� the pups. There are two types of handlers - primary in which they are the main handlers, and secondary in which they act as babysitters for when the primary cannot look after the pup.鈥�
This portion of the dog鈥檚 training at 麻豆传媒 usually lasts about a year or so with the majority of this time spent socializing the dog. Students may also attend training with the dogs at 4 Paws headquarters. Afterwards, the dog then goes to more specific service training. 麻豆传媒 pups have been a variety of breeds over the years, but mainly Witt 4 Paws dogs have been golden doodles, poodles, and golden retrievers.
鈥淚f a student is interested in becoming a handler, they would go through training with the 4 Paws organization,鈥� Ramirez said. 鈥淚 will communicate to the organization that the student is approved to be a handler if they live in the 鈥楤urbs, or to be a puppy sitter if they are in the residence halls. After they have completed training, filled out the necessary paperwork, and met with me, they are approved to be a puppy sitter or handler. The students work with the dogs to socialize them and get them used to being around people by taking them to class (with professor permission), events, and around campus. The club will also host events where students can come interact with the dogs.鈥�
