Cerritos College hosted its first dog therapy event of the spring semester with different dogs for different days on Jan. 15, with the turnout not have been great as only one student showed up.
“It’s usually a great turnout during the semester” employee of “Paws to Share” Carol Slaton, said.
These dog therapies are every Monday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Success Center which is located downstairs in the basement of the library.
Students and faculty are welcome to join dog therapy by booking a time slot to have a session or walk in for a session.
Dog therapy is provided to all the people at Cerritos College to help relieve their stress, anxiety, self-esteem, and help improve their energy and mood.
Slaton comes on Wednesdays with her two dogs Blizzard, a 14-year-old Tibetan terrier and Volcano, nine-year-old a havanese.
Blizzard and Volcano’s favorite things to do are eating snacks, getting scratched and following their mom Slaton around.
Blizzard and Volcano are brothers and have been doing dog therapy with their owner Slaton for seven and a half years with the company “Paws to Share.”
These are not the only dogs an attendee might encounter when they come in for dog therapy as another volunteer comes on Mondays with her two dogs Sachi, a French Bulldog and June Bug, a Boston Terrier.
“The students love it and there’s ones that come week after week because they know the dogs and that’s always fun and it’s fun to see new kids,” Slaton said.
The one student who attended this session was Jasmine Reyes, an early childhood education major, who said ever since she’s been at Cerritos College she attends as many dog therapies as she can.
“It’s super fun, I come from a household that has allergies and it happens to be dogs but I’ve always loved petting dogs growing up,” Reyes said.
Blizzard and Volcano are actually hypoallergenic and have hair, not fur which makes them allergy friendly so everyone can be included.
Reyes also shared her thoughts on her experiences with the event, “It’s really cool getting to know the owner’s story because they’re [the dogs], like another member of the family, makes them really special.”
The next dog therapy event is at the end of the month on Jan. 29, but that event will be held outside.
