Furry companions at USU
A 1-year-old German Shepherd mix named Poseidon walks to class with his handler, Claudia Torres, a sophomore in veterinary science.
She sits near the edge of the class, puts him in a down stay position either to the side or in front of her where he can get comfortable and she can focus on the instructor.
“It doesn’t distract me because I’m used to him being there,” Torres said.
Poseidon and other dogs, while not common at Utah State University, can occasionally be seen walking around campus or sitting in class with their owners. Some of those dogs may be pets getting fresh air, others can be therapy animals comforting students, and some may be service animals helping their handlers.
“I can tell, like, when people want to touch him,” Torres said. “That’s when it’s distracting to me, because then they’re, like, staring at my dog and I’m just like, ‘please don’t touch.'”
Strangers petting Poseidon is one of the biggest problems with owning a service animal, Torres said.
“I have so many people come up and just touch him,” she said. “I like it when they ask permission, because then depending on how I felt and how he is, you know, I can say yes or no, but it’s a little difficult when someone comes and touches him because then he becomes completely distracted.”
When people touch Poseidon, he isn’t focusing on his job, she said. An animal trained to be alert for seizures or anxiety attacks and is distracted from its job can miss crucial warnings signs that could be critical for its owner. Even when the animal isn’t wearing an identification vest, it’s important to ask the handler if it’s okay to interact with them first.
Some animals are meant to be touched, however, as they serve as comfort or therapy animals, Torres said.
Therapy animals are different from service animals, said John Kras, an associate professor of the department of kinesiology and health science.
“Their only duty is to make people feel good,” Kras said.
Kras handles two therapy dogs: Data, age 6, and Luna, age 2. Both are Weimaraners. He takes the dogs to hospitals to comfort children and veterans.
Both dogs started training to be therapy animals at 18 months, Kras said. In order to become certified by law, they need to graduate as good citizens and show that they are able to behave around people.
“So the handler has to go through probably more than the animals, because we have to be able to identify when they’re not comfortable around a situation,” Kras said. “We have to know our dogs and know if a little kid could come and pull on its ear or any of that kind of stuff without it getting upset or something of that nature.”
Kras takes Luna and Data to work with him, and occasionally takes them to the class he teaches on campus where they can run around the room and interact with the students when his students are comfortable around dogs.
Sometimes animals on campus are pets. Temis Taylor, a graduate student in environmental society, sometimes brings her year-old Labrador mix Rosie to work.
“She’s a really social dog, and we just get out every couple of hours and let her wallow in the snow and she’s pretty happy with it,” Taylor said. “She likes to meet people and other dogs that are on campus she enjoys playing with, so she’s happy here.”
Rosie gives Taylor a reason to take a break from work every few hours when she needs to get away from reading books and writing. In the office, she said, Rosie will just hang out and be mellow.
Taylor stresses the importance of responsibility and good training for pets around campus.
“Train them. Training’s about the people not so much about the dogs, how you have to be a good dog owner to have a good dog,” she said. “And just be responsible, pick up after them, don’t let them be a nuisance, then it’s better for all of us.”
Students who miss their dogs and pets at home and are looking to interact with animals, Kras said, could volunteer at the Cache Valley Humane Center, or advertise to those with animals that they would be willing to pet sit or take them on walks.
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