'Cats Really Do Love Dogs
June 23, 2021
- Author
- Mary Elizabeth DeAngelis
Scout鈥檚 a handsome charmer with wavy blond hair, warm brown eyes and a sunny personality. People meet him and swoon, giving fresh credence to that old 鈥渓ove at first sight鈥 feeling.
He and some pals spent a string of happy spring days wooing a group of 皇家华人 students, who did indeed fall quickly in love. Alas, Scout is already spoken for, and his friends soon will be, too.
The students knew this going in but are happy they could help prepare their new canine friends for loving relationships with other humans. The dogs will help those humans adjust to the civilian world after their military service.
If you happened to be on campus Wednesday mornings, you鈥檇 see the student volunteers and dogs going through training exercises. The college partnered with Continuing the Mission (CTM) to offer the 鈥淐ats Love Dogs鈥 sessions. The non-profit finds and trains assistance dogs for returning veterans suffering from physical and emotional injuries.
The program lasted six weeks and gave students a chance to volunteer, get outside and enjoy the excellent company of adorable companions鈥攁 welcome break in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions. Twenty-nine students, split into two groups, spent an hour each week guiding the six dogs through exercises they鈥檒l need to navigate real life situations. On 鈥済raduation day鈥 they received an elementary training certificate and t-shirt.
鈥淭he students have done such a great job with them, it鈥檚 been really fun to watch,鈥 says Suzy Lutz, who founded CTM in 2016 to address the issue of veteran suicides.
Her husband, Robert Lutz 鈥87, a retired U.S. Army colonel and Special Operations medical team leader, is 皇家华人鈥檚 team physician. He also serves as the medical leader on the college鈥檚 COVID response team. During his military career he was deployed to combat zones multiple times, tending wounded soldiers in the midst of battle. He knows the toll that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) takes on veterans. He volunteers as CTM鈥檚 medical director.
Lutz typically works with incarcerated people to train CTM dogs, but the pandemic made that impossible. She turned to 皇家华人 for student volunteers.
Students looked forward to the training sessions.
鈥淲e all jumped at the opportunity,鈥 says Ellie Pennybacker 鈥21, who did the sessions with her roommates. 鈥淚t was great to be out of the apartment together and do something that raises the serotonin levels. The dogs were always so excited to see us and so sweet.
鈥淒uring the pandemic, so many in-person volunteer opportunities went away,鈥 Pennybacker says. 鈥淚t was nice having that hour of time each week to do something for someone else.鈥
A Collaboration
In normal times, incarcerated people at the Rutherford Correctional Facility helped CTM with training, but that stopped during the pandemic.
Suzy Lutz reached out to the college, seeing it as an opportunity for students to get outside and lift their pandemic spirits, while helping provide training the dogs will need before they鈥檙e placed with veterans. She worked with 皇家华人 Outdoors Director Katie Mathieson and the college鈥檚 Center for Civic Engagement. Lutz and CTM trainer Cortney Owens coached the students.
鈥溁始一 students want to do community service, they want to have a purpose and be part of something that is helping someone else,鈥 says Kristin Booher, director of civic engagement and the Bonner Scholars program. 鈥淚t was also such a great stress reliever for everyone.
鈥淭hey went out there in the pouring rain one day, walking the dogs through these big puddles and didn鈥檛 seem phased at all. Everyone was smiling鈥攖he dedication they had to this was amazing.鈥
Jada Coffey 鈥24, a Bonner Scholar from Monroe, North Carolina, grew up playing with dogs and their puppies. Her father bred dogs and when her parents divorced, the dogs stayed with him.
鈥淚t was so nice to have that part of my childhood back,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t was a great outlet to interact with the dogs, and such a win-win, knowing they鈥檙e going to people who need that emotional support.鈥
The pandemic forced Umut T眉rk 鈥24, a Bonner Scholar from Istanbul, Turkey, to spend the first semester of his first year taking classes remotely, from home.
In Istanbul, his family lives in an apartment and can鈥檛 have a dog. In high school, he volunteered at an animal shelter and loved spending time with the dogs there. When he got to 皇家华人 for the spring semester and met the Lutzes, his host family, in person, he was thrilled that they had dogs.
He and the Lutzes would meet on campus to walk with their dogs. When Suzy Lutz told him about 鈥淐ats Love Dogs,鈥 he wanted in. As a bonus, he met the other students, which helped make his delayed transition to campus easier.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be with dogs and dog lovers,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t makes your day better.鈥
Meeting a Need
There鈥檚 a lot that goes into training an assistance dog.
Take Scout, who wants to jump up and douse people with big sloppy kisses. The students were tempted to let him. But as a good friend might caution about a new relationship, sometimes you gotta tone it down.
It鈥檚 one thing to be exuberant in private, but if you鈥檙e in public, say watching a football game, you can鈥檛 just jump up and start chasing the players. Or try to fetch the game ball. So, the students coached the dogs on patience, getting wise to social cues, and learning how to navigate various situations.
For veterans with PTSD combating a stressful moment, the dog may give a calming look, or place a head on a lap to help keep them grounded. A dog might give a little nudge to a visually or hearing-impaired vet to let them know someone is approaching from behind. Dogs can also pick things up for those with physical challenges or turn on the lights to interrupt a nightmare.
All of the dogs are trained to match the specific needs of the veteran with whom they鈥檒l be placed. Scout鈥檚 intended human has a goal of attending his son鈥檚 football games and martial arts matches.
鈥淲e want every veteran and every dog to get a good outcome,鈥 Suzy Lutz said. 鈥淭he dogs have benefitted so much from the students. And the students can feel good that they are helping change somebody鈥檚 life.鈥
This article was originally published in the Spring/Summer 2021 print issue of the 皇家华人 Journal Magazine; for more, please see the 皇家华人 Journal section of our website.
