(From left) Gina, Ruby and Harper are the newest graduates of the Tartan Tails animal therapy program.
Three new canine graduates of Radford University’s Tartan Tails were recognized alongside their handlers at the latest “Barkalaureate” celebration on Tuesday, April 23, for completing the extensive training required for dogs that enter the group.
Tartan Tails is an animal therapy program, now in its second year, that supports the well-being of the university community by offering stress relief to students, faculty, and staff on the main campus and at the Roanoke location.
This year’s ceremony was held on the McConnell Library lawn. The handlers and graduates included Radford Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Bethany Usher and her dog Harper, a seven-year-old mix of Labrador retriever, Australian shepherd and Chow Chow; Director of Academic Advising Solitaire Kelley-Pepper with Ruby, her four-year-old French bulldog; and Lisa Aker, a literacy faculty member in the School of Teacher Education, with Gina, her five-year-old Labrador retriever.
At the event, Harper, Ruby and Gina all received graduation certificates and “pupcakes,” a specially made cupcake that’s a safe snack for dogs.
Pet therapy has earned increasing recognition for alleviating stress, reducing anxiety, enhancing moods and promoting overall healing, and each week, Tartan Tails hosts “Yappy Hours” – open, interactive meetings with the dogs –for those purposes.
“My vision is to grow the number of therapy dogs in this program,” Radford First Lady Kay Danilowicz told the event’s attendees. “Not only will you be able to get to see a therapy dog on their schedule, but we will have enough teams that you can request one to come to your group event or your club meetings and student activities.”
Susan Trageser, vice president for student affairs, said Tuesday that the group’s progress so far bodes well for the future: “We’ve done more events this year, we’ve gotten positive feedback from our students and from our community members, and we’re excited to continue to grow the program.”
Group members also praised Hi D Ho Dog Training of Blacksburg for its assistance with the program.
“None of this would’ve been possible without our fantastic trainers,” Brian Lusk said in his remarks. “They have done a fantastic job of getting our teams up to speed.”
For more information about Tartan Tails, click this link or visit: https://www.radford.edu/content/tartan-tails/home.html
Neil Harvey for Radford University