For the past six months, students in Wichita State’s Military and Veteran Student Center in Lindquist Hall have been falling in love with Riley, a Rhodesian Ridgeback / lab rescue dog adopted by center director Sarah Sell.
Riley is being trained as a therapy dog and will complete certification next spring.
The goal, Sell says, is to use 3-year-old Riley to help relieve anxiety and stress among veteran and active-duty military students.
“Even petting a dog can lower your heart rate and blood pressure and give you a moment of peace,” Sell says. “That’s really important for our students who are coming in before a test or after a test that didn’t go so well. Having that experience to cuddle or bond with an animal is really helpful.”
Find out more about the Military and Veteran Student Center.