I just adopted a four-month-old mixed-breed puppy from a local animal rescue. Lorelei is my new “office assistant” whose main job is to keep me company and sleep by my feet while I’m slaving away at my computer writing articles for all of you. If we’re lucky, she’ll want to do agility training when she gets older, but that remains to be seen. Her mom was a poodle after all, so the chances of that happening are probably pretty slim. Who knows?
But unlike Lorelei whose job isn’t really much of a job at all, many of your campuses have dogs that save lives or make your schools, universities or hospitals more secure or productive in some other way. Some of you have K9s that search your campuses, parking lots, lockers and event venues for drugs, bombs and other dangerous substances. Others might have dogs that help with search and rescue during a disaster. Of course, we can’t forget about the Dalmatians that keep our fire fighters company.
Pups also play important roles in other ways. Some hospitals bring in therapy dogs that help patients heal. I bet many of you in K-12 schools have four-legged friends who help young children learn how to read. Many of you might have office mascots that provide moral support when employees are stressed. I’ve even heard of one college that has a designated room where students, faculty and staff can play with puppies from the local shelter.
Dogs play an important role in our lives, whether they are mutts like Lorelei or the pure-bred Belgian Malinois, labs or German Shepherds often used in police and military work.
So how does your institution use dogs? And lest you think I’m only talking about the canine variety of animals (although I must admit that I’m a dog person), what about cats? Perhaps your feline friends are helping to reduce your rodent infestation issues? Maybe your campus has another type of animal that is improving public safety or helping patients, teachers, students or staff in some other way.
Whatever their roles might be, send photos of your furry friends along with a brief description of what he or she does to me at [email protected]. We’ll feature your photos on our site and give these hard-working animals some well-deserved credit.
