BY LOGAN HURSTON FOR THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — If the world has you stressed out, man’s best friend has your back with a nuzzle and a smile. Auburn Therapy Dogs are a group that are certified by the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. The group features 20 teams that cover the towns in Lee County. Each team consists of a dog and a handler that specializes in lending emotional support and companionship for people in need.
“(The group) started out of necessity,” said Will Leveille, founder of Auburn Therapy Dogs. Leveille and his dog, a female golden retriever named CJ, have done around 350 visits since the groups start in 2022.
“It was right towards the back end of the COVID pandemic and I had gotten CJ certified as a therapy dog in Georgia,” said Leveille. “I was living in Opelika full time, and I started asking around (about other teams) because I wanted to do visits (with CJ) to certain institutions and entities. The thing about therapy dogs is you can do it on your own, but it’s more enjoyable with teams.”
“So when I started asking around, there were no three teams in the area. We started visits alone, but eventually I became an evaluator for the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. I then evaluated teams in the area and that’s how the group started. We saw the need for animal assisted group therapy in the area and filled that need.”
The Alliance of Therapy Dogs, the group that certifies Auburn Therapy Dog, has over 18,000 teams certified over the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. To be certified, a team has to pass three visits in different environments to see how they react and respond.
“The evaluation is free and the first visit is typically a 15 to 20 minute visit at Hobby Lobby,” Leveille said. “I’ll watch how they interact with CJ, the people in the store and different smells and sights. The next two visits are to medical facilities. We’ll go to the cancer center, hospital, nursing home or something similar. Those visits will be longer, and we’ll add more dogs and different surrounding to see how they can behave. I’m watching how the dogs act because we won’t be in environments you typically see dogs in. But I’ll also watch how the handler reacts, with them hopefully being proactive and taking care of their dog. With a proactive gander and a dog with a good gentle personality, it’s really easy and we knock out those visits quickly.”
Just passing the Alliance of Therapy Dogs’ evaluation doesn’t necessarily get a team into the Auburn Therapy Dogs. The group holds themselves to a higher standard. Teams are expected to make at least one visit per month to facilities like hospitals or nursing homes. The group is looking for accountable teams with handlers that have the heart and the time for service.
Auburn Therapy Dogs don’t just visit medical facilities however. They are looking to alleviate stress wherever they are needed. The group often visits Auburn University and sorority houses during midterms and finals week. The teams visit special needs groups like BraveHeart along with police and fire departments. The group has even helped with a class at Auburn University School of Nursing. The group does interviews with students on a course about animal assisted therapy.
“It’s not just the patients who need the dogs, often times it’s the nurses too,” Leveille said. “The nurses are working 12 to 14 hour shifts in a high stress environment and they just light up whenever the dogs come in. One time, me and CJ were walking around at the hospital and she heard a nurse call out to her. We walked over and she asked if CJ was a therapy dog. I said yes, and the nurse got down on her knees and cried over CJ. She was having a bad day and needed this.”
Auburn Therapy Dogs current goal is to become their own organization outside of the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. They recently submitted paperwork to become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the future. For more information on Auburn Therapy Dogs, you can follow them on instagram and Facebook @auburntherapydogs.
