Therapy Dog Clinic awarded grant

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—The Therapy Dog Clinic, part of the Unified Clinics at Western Michigan University, has received a generous grant of more than $22,000 from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. The funds will help continue services to support placing WMU therapy dogs Sunny, Oreo and Poppy into outpatient therapy and occupational therapy services provided to Kalamazoo County youth within the Unified Clinics. This is an important step forward in maintaining the unique, holistic and trauma-informed services available at WMU.

The Therapy Dog Clinic was established in August 2022, after the presence of therapy dogs within the facility, primarily as part of the Children’s Trauma Assessment Center and Resiliency Center for Families and Children, showed research-based efficacy. The clinic is focused on facilitating high-quality animal-assisted interventions throughout WMU and the community. 

Therapy dogs have been trained to provide emotional support which positively impacts emotional functioning and communication skills. Their job is to help people feel better. Research has shown that therapy dogs can be a calm and supportive presence in unknown or stressful situations. 

About the director

Dr. Angie Moe is professor of sociology and the director of the Therapy Dog Clinic at Western with specializations in interpersonal victimization and trauma informed survivorship. As an extension of these interests, she acquired and trained her first therapy dog, Sunny, in 2016. In 2019, Oreo was gifted to her by the Russell family from Mattawan, Michigan, to do similar work. Poppy joined the pack as a rescue in early 2022. Moe has thousands of hours of therapy and crisis response handling experience.

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