The Joys of Bradley's Wags for Mags
Students have the opportunity to take on the roll of training and taking care of service dogs within Bradley University's Wags for Mags student organization
Service dogs and their place in the world
For many different centuries and millennia, dogs have been considered to be man’s best friend. They provide comfort, protection, security and at best, they even begin to feel like a permanent member of the family. Not everyone can handle the responsibility or the weight of raising and caring for an animal as their own, but for those who can, it can be a life-changing experience. On top of what dogs can provide up front, they even provide so much more for their owners and those around them. Their innate intelligence allows for them to be able to perform tasks that would be too complicated for some animals. One of these, is providing comfort in the form of service dogs.
A service dog by the name of Daisy lying out in the sun while being pampered with love
Service dogs have many different purposes for many different people. When trained correctly and given the right amount of time, they can perform great feats for people. They can provide blind people with the ability to see in ways that they sadly cannot, or some people have service dogs to provide that comfort within their life that they do not have. One of the biggest and most trusted Service Dog organizations in the country is ADA, who run all year round looking for new recruits daily to help train more dogs. They are an exceptional source for support and that very much holds up for University students as well. What exactly can a service dog do to help students though?
Bradley’s Wags for Mags
University students have to endure a very stressful set of years within their lives. On top of making sure that their studies and grades are where they need to be, they have to juggle personal struggles, work or otherwise. Some even face emotional turmoil that is far too much for their brain to handle. As with everyday people or those who suffer from disabilities, there are many students on campus who suffer from disabilities themselves. That is where Bradley’s Wags for Mags comes into play. Wags for Mags is a student-led organization formed in 2012 with the sole purpose of students providing training to service dogs to aid those who have disabilities. While it is student formed and led, they have partnered with Paws Giving Independence to be able to provide these service dogs the training they need, and providing those service dogs to people who are in need of them. The program started off extremely small when it was first formed in 2012, but has since seen a sizable growth in members in the last decade.
For students who have shared classes with members of Wags for Mags, they may have noticed at a passing glance that students take these dogs every where them on campus, even into classrooms. Being able to have those dogs accompany those who need them anywhere they go does wonders to provide those with disabilities the comfort they need. The benefits students can have from service dogs are immensely helpful as well.
Service dogs or just pets in general have been scientifically known to be instrumental in helping deal with things like anxiety, depression, panic attacks and many more. These service dogs can provide ample therapy for students and help them to become more comfortable within their environment. This can be especially helpful for freshman who still possess heavy anxiety being away from home. There are numerous programs for students having the ability to take care or be assigned their own service dog in many different universities across the country and the globe. For even more information regarding these benefits, check out the landing page for ManyPets.com.
Training to spread happiness
Lacey Zakrajsek with her Dog-In-Training Jayden during a fundraiser on Olin Quad
These dogs are being trained by a group of amazing students in hopes of giving these service dogs to the disable or even the elderly. Having to train a dog on how to perform various while having to juggle with college classes can be quite the struggle for these students. One of the groups members, Mallory Lorenz was able to provide some insight on how she feels about the program and what her favorite aspects of Wags for Mags are.
My favorite things about Wags is witnessing the growth of these dogs and watching them learn how to perform these different tasks. Also seeing how these dogs end up impacting the lives of the recipients is a very cool process to see and be a part of. You tend to meet some of your best friends within Wags as well, and we just really enjoy hanging out together too.
Mallory provided information about bringing her service dog she trained to class with her and some of the processes that goes into training service dogs.
I’ve had to be able to juggle training my service dog on top of classes. I’d have to bring with me to some of my classes in the past as a part of the training as well. We have the option to puppy raise them , watch them grow, give them all of their training needs and after that, we would go around to find their appropriate recipient and send them off once they are both fully certified to work as a team. Raising a service dog can be very challenging and difficult, but I find it to be a very rewarding experience.
The organization is hoping to spread the word about the program with fundraisers and informational seminars in hopes of finding student volunteers to help out. However, to truly understand and get a grasp of what the program is like, it’s better to be able to get a word from some members of Wags for Mags themselves. Luckily, we got some chances to sit down and speak to the current student President of Bradley Wags for Mags, along with some members and even a few testimonies from students around campus. You can listen to the interviews down below:
Their words in these interviews are edited and mixed for clarity and brevity of the audience.
Bradley University’s Wags for Mags is always looking for new recruits or students who are willing to spend time training a service dog to help another person in need. You can be able to find their landing page at Bradley University’s main website. Those interested may be able to find their new best friend and learn some life-long skills in the process, so sign up today if you are interested!