BY KADIE VICK
FOR THE OBSERVER
EAST ALABAMA — For those experiencing crisis, the comfort or a furry friend can bring light during a dark, distressing time.
Auburn Therapy Dogs is a local 501(c)(3) non-profit animal-assisted therapy organization serving East Alabama and surrounding areas. Will Leveille, founder of Auburn Therapy Dogs said he and other volunteers bring in trained canines to be a calming presence in a variety of situations.
“Any place you can think of that could be a stressful or anxious environment, we have probably gone there or someplace similar,” he said.
“You can see the relief, comfort, happiness and joy that the dogs bring, especially when you’re going into places where you wouldn’t expect to see them,” added volunteer Kayla Wheeles. “We visit nursing homes, hospitals, schools and libraries. We visit memory care centers for people who have dementia and Alzheimer’s, and you see people who’ve had just the worst day.”
“Interacting with a therapy dog is a moment for someone to step away from whatever stressful, anxious situation is going on in their life, and to just pet a dog and just feel a connection of unconditional love,” Leveille said. “It’s cool to see.”
Auburn Therapy Dogs not only help calm someone who’s agitated, they also bring happiness to the caregivers who help people in crisis on a daily basis.
“When we go to the hospital, I’ve had so many nurses who will say hello to the dog, and they are just excited to see us,” Wheeles said. “They will often talk to me and say that we have made their day.”
Auburn Therapy Dogs also frequently visit with local college students during finals and at other stressful times during the academic year.
“We had Auburn Therapy Dogs visit our students, and we got really good feedback from the students that they loved them,” said Taylor Foutz, an advisor with Auburn University’s College of Business. “[Students] loved interacting with them, and the owners were great. We had them come back for finals week, which is a stressful time for students, and the therapy dogs would walk around where students were studying. You could just see the students in the middle of studying looking anxious, and after a few seconds interacting with the dogs, they would visibly decompress — it was a game changer.”
“The dogs are so great,” said Foutz. “We love working with them in our offices, and we have used [them] multiple times now.”
“We don’t charge anything — we’re a free service and we’re volunteers,” Leveille said. “When things go wrong, we want people and organizations to know that they have a free service here, that all they have to do is call us. It’s really important that people know that we’re a resource available to them.”
Leveille knew his Golden Retriever named CJ would make a great therapy dog, so he had her certified through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. He founded Auburn Therapy Dogs to make therapy dog certification accessible for other local dog owners.
“CJ is a four-year-old golden retriever, and anyone who’s ever known a golden retriever or has been around them knows that they are some of the most loving dogs you could ever be around,” he said. “So, when I got CJ as a puppy, I knew from day one that I wanted to make sure she was set up to be a therapy dog. The best thing you can do to ensure that your dog will be good
for therapy work is to socialize them and desensitize them, because it helps them to behave and stay under control in a variety of situations and places.”
Wheeles had always wanted to get her Australian shepherd certified as a therapy dog, but obtaining the required training was difficult to access locally.
“I just knew my dog Harley Smoke had the personality for it,” Wheeles said. “I’ve known ever since he came into my life and just didn’t have the resources in this area to get certified or to start the process, until Will Leveille founded Auburn Therapy Dogs.”
Auburn Therapy Dogs now has 20 volunteer teams ready to serve the community.
“It’s a lot of work serving the area, because there are so many places that need us, and we’re volunteers — we can’t do all of it all the time,” said Leveille. “We are always looking for more dedicated teams. We are looking for handlers that are passionate about serving, and we’re looking for dogs that are just loving, caring and have the demeanor to do this.”
Leveille said well-behaved dogs of any breed can be trained as therapy dogs if they have the right temperament.
“I’m proud to say that we have dogs of all different shapes and sizes,” he said. “We’ve had chihuahuas, an Irish wolfhound and then everything in between. All of them get along with each other, and they all are comfortable serving with each other as well as the humans.
“We hold our dogs and our teams to a very high standard. They have to be able to behave in a lot of different situations, whether it’s the ICU, fire station, police station or any other location.”
For those interested in learning more about Auburn Therapy Dogs services or to volunteer, visit their Facebook page or email auburntherapydogs@gmail.com.
