2008 Woodie Awards
'Comfort dogs' help students at NIU grieve in lieu of typical counseling sessions
By: MCT
Issue date: 3/18/08 Section: Campus
CHICAGO - When classes resumed after the slayings at Northern Illinois University, anxious students showed up at the campus counseling office seeking to talk to someone who was a good listener - someone calm, someone furry.
They wanted to see the dogs.
In the aftermath of the terrorizing Feb. 14 shooting by gunman Steven Kazmierczak, comfort came to the shaken campus from an unusually calm pack of four-legged therapists, whose mission was to find people who wanted to pet them. The weeklong presence of these comfort dogs has been so missed at NIU that officials are trying to bring them back.
"In many instances, they gave to students things we couldn't give them as mental health professionals," said Elizabeth Garcia, a counselor at NIU. "Some students didn't want to talk to counselors but talking to the dogs made them feel better. I saw people sitting on the floor with them, talking to them like they were humans."
The 12 dogs were from Animal Assisted Crisis Response, an elite group of therapy dogs trained to bring emotional rescue after a disaster or crisis.
They wanted to see the dogs.
In the aftermath of the terrorizing Feb. 14 shooting by gunman Steven Kazmierczak, comfort came to the shaken campus from an unusually calm pack of four-legged therapists, whose mission was to find people who wanted to pet them. The weeklong presence of these comfort dogs has been so missed at NIU that officials are trying to bring them back.
"In many instances, they gave to students things we couldn't give them as mental health professionals," said Elizabeth Garcia, a counselor at NIU. "Some students didn't want to talk to counselors but talking to the dogs made them feel better. I saw people sitting on the floor with them, talking to them like they were humans."
The 12 dogs were from Animal Assisted Crisis Response, an elite group of therapy dogs trained to bring emotional rescue after a disaster or crisis.
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Flora
posted 3/18/08 @ 9:10 PM EST
I think this is an absolutely wonderful & heartwarming story about the students at NIU getting to be with those dogs! That is terrific therapy for their mental health, & the dogs love it, too, as they need the love & affection shown to them by the students. (Continued…)
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