{"id":49806,"date":"2018-09-14T15:36:59","date_gmt":"2018-09-14T19:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=49806"},"modified":"2025-10-10T10:30:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T14:30:49","slug":"carleton-expands-therapy-dog-program","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/carleton-expands-therapy-dog-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Carleton Expands Therapy Dog Program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Carleton Expands Therapy Dog Program\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Meet Roxy, Cooper, Penny, Zak, Murphy and Dozer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They’re friends of Blue\u2014Carleton University’s first therapy dog and most famous pet on campus\u2014and they’re here to spread canine love to keep student spirits up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carleton
From left to right: Philip Mansfield and Penny, Adelle Forth and Zak, Patrick Hansen and Cooper, Allie Davidson and Murphy, Kyle Biggar and Roxy, Shannon Noonan and Blue, Elise Laviolette and Dozer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The new in-house Carleton Therapy Dogs<\/a> program has officially launched as a campus-wide student mental health initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six of the seven dogs in the program are the personal dogs of faculty and staff who volunteered to be a part of the program. They have been put through a rigorous training process all summer to be prepared to foster a welcoming, supportive environment to address mild to moderate mental health needs.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Carleton<\/figure>\n\n\n

A Mental Health Initiative Driven by Faculty and Staff<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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The innovative idea of recruiting and training Carleton employees as therapy dog handlers with their own family dogs struck a chord with President Benoit-Antoine Bacon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are excited to expand our therapy dog program as part of all we do to support our students and their mental health and well-being,” says Bacon. “So proud that six of our amazing faculty and staff volunteered with their own dogs for this program, which involved lots of training, to help our students. You make Carleton great.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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