Dog News

Concordia University Gets Comfort Dog for Campus

by Fred

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9.9.15 - ConcordiaFEAT

Concordia University students have a new member to their everyday campus life.  Zoey is a therapy dog that has been hired by the university to be on hand as a comfort to students and faculty as well.

She was hired as a full time staff member in January of 2014.  Going away to school for the first time can be difficult, as well as maybe something going on at home that a student can’t simply leave campus for.  Zoey is here to help with all of that and more.

“Her presence being the canine version of taking a deep breath,” said Dave Enters, Concordia University director of counseling services.

“It absolutely puts a smile on everybody’s face.  She’s walking down the hall and you’re at the other end going the other way and it instantly just brightens your whole day,” said freshman Adam Natzke.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention studies have shown that dogs are excellent for decreasing stress and promoting relaxation in some people.  Some students have said that they ended up picking Concordia University just because Zoey was there.

“She’s very calming and her presence is very inviting and I like that about her, but also we have an animal that is like a professional love giver,” said Mimi McNulty, new student on campus.

Zoey visits classrooms, and also is used in some one on one counseling as well.  She went through 54 weeks of training to become certified, and is a full member of staff at the school.  She even has her own Facebook page that you can check out by clicking here.