Therapy dog to make its debut on UNL’s campus

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – After graduating from Domesti-PUPS, Hershey will be filling his new role as a therapy dog with UNL’s police department.

Hershey’s handler, Dispatch Director Sara Haake, has already been able to meet him.

“As a therapy animal or a comfort animal, he loves people, but he knows not to approach them until they are ready, and so that is really important to us and people don’t feel pressured to interact with him, but he is always there and ready for pets and attention,” Haake said.

Haake says Hershey will have a dual role on campus. One of them is resiliency and wellness for the internal staff, which involves helping out with the day-to-day stress in the workplace. Hershey’s second role will be community engagement, which means walking on both East and City Campus and being there for any hiring and wellness events.

“Just the morale boost and just the excitement he brings, just being here has been so impactful,” Haake said.

Domesti-PUPS is an organization in Lincoln that provides therapy dogs for persons with disabilities, and obedience-trained rescue dogs. The organization also partners with the Nebraska Department of Corrections.

As Hershey’s trainer, Amanda Masinelli says his impact on campus will be limitless, and it is a lot more than just providing comfort and support.

“I understand what it is like to be a struggling college kid, or sometimes just having someone that you can sit down and pet,” Masinelli said. “I know a lot of the students don’t have their pets from home, so you know it’s something else they can look forward to seeing there, and he will be there for any type of crisis situations.”

Hershey will officially start his roles on campus before the start of the fall semester. UNL Police are holding a fundraiser right now to pay for all of Hershey’s training, and anything else he needs to fill his new role on campus.