Article by Yun Sugimoto. Photo by Yun Sugimoto.
The St. Cloud State organization Healthy Huskies hosts a weekly event where students can enjoy the company of therapy dogs, providing a chance to relax and decompress.
Throughout the year, students have a valuable opportunity every Tuesday to take a break from their academic pressures and unwind in a calm and stress-relieving environment.
Therapy dogs have an incredible ability to sense the emotions and needs of those around them because they are specially trained to help enhance emotional and mental health. Most therapy dogs hold qualities like patience and gentleness. They offer a comforting presence that helps alleviate the mental burdens of daily life.
Research has shown that spending time with animals, particularly dogs, can significantly reduce stress levels, lower blood pressure, and ease feelings of anxiety.
Many students leave every event feeling lighter, more at ease, and emotionally rejuvenated after spending time with the dogs.
“I feel really amazing. I’m about an hour away from home so I don’t always have animals with me anymore but having a chance to sit and hangout with animals, no matter what animals, is just humbling and really great,” said current St. Cloud student, Olivia Thomas.
Best of all, this wonderful experience is completely free and open to all members of the St. Cloud State community, making it an accessible and therapeutic opportunity for anyone looking to de-stress.
“It would be a good distraction for students. They often feel stressed from school or miss their animals and parents. By visiting dogs, it takes away a lot of stress from them. They’re not thinking about studying or whatever, but just in the moment with the dogs,” said Ben Dockendorf, a therapy dog owner.
For Dockendorf, helping people by reducing their anxiety and stress is incredibly fulfilling. He often asks people, “How’s your anxiety?” and the response is nearly always the same: “What anxiety? It’s gone.”
Dockendorf aims to provide the same relief he experienced through dogs to people dealing with anxiety, stress, grief or illness.
Dockendorf experienced the tragic loss of his brother, who was diagnosed with cancer. Then in the winter of 2019, Dockendorf’s dog Pepper, who was a certified therapy dog, started displaying strange behaviors around him. Pepper became clingy and would lay on Dockendorf’s lap while he worked on his laptop, and the dog would stick his snort in his owner’s mouth as if trying to smell for something inside his body.
Strange behavior made Dockendorf wonder why such an intelligent animal was acting out. He reflected on his brother’s illness and decided to make an appointment to be examined by a doctor. After some tests, Dockendorf would be diagnosed with the same cancer that took his late brother’s life. Before his diagnosis, Dockendorf had never displayed nor felt any symptoms of illness, but miraculously Pepper could sense something was off about his beloved owner.
“He is my lifesaver,” Dockendorf said.
When asked why he brings his therapy pets to events like the “Destress With Pets” at St. Cloud State, his answer was simple: “It’s so rewarding,” Dockendorf explained.
When asked about his goal he answered, “I want to get this puppy certified and continue doing this as long as I can.”
His mission is clear—he wants to bring comfort and healing to others, one dog at a time.
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