Former bomb detection dog Moose continues “Let Loose with Moose” serving as a therapy dog since joining the student counseling center in 2015.
Moose is a 9-year-old yellow Labrador retriever trained to be highly sensitive to human emotions. Moose allows clients to pet him and rest his on their lap to provide comfort during counseling.
Moose is to be one of the therapists
Moose lives with Doug Hankes, director of student counseling services. Hankes said Moose is hardworking and dedicated in the office, but is a completely different dog when he is
“When I get him home and let him out of the car and take his vest off, he is all gas and no brake,” Hankes said.
During the week, Moose is in the counseling services’ office every day with clients for his regular therapy sessions in addition to his weekly appearance on campus at his event ‘Let Loose with Moose’.
‘Let Loose with Moose’ takes place every Thursday in the third-floor lobby of the s
The ‘Let Loose with Moose’ outreach program began because of the benefits associated with
Animal Assisted Therapy proved to be highly effective and beneficial in helping patients, especially those who may have suffered a trauma. ‘Let Loose with Moose’ brings Moose on campus where he can easily interact with a great number of students at one time.
The student counseling services wanted to create the to reach students in a more relatable way.
“When students hear the words ‘mental health’, they tend to run in the other direction, but if we have Moose everyone wants to come join and pet him,” Hankes said.
Moose is utilized as a marketing tool to make students less apprehensive about seeking help from student counseling services or participating in their outreach events.
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