On Sept. 22, Dogs in the Dell held a career night for Elizabethtown College students to socialize with and learn about different career paths for service dogs.
Samantha Machmer is a senior at Etown and one of the founders of Dogs in the Dell. Machmer, an occupational therapy major with a human services minor, is raising Susquehanna Service Dog Farmer, a 18 month old black lab who, according to Dogs in the Dell Instagram page, “loves to work, play, and go on walks with Sam.”
“Dogs in the Dell is a program partnership between Elizabethtown College and Susquehanna Service Dogs,” Machmer said.
Susquehanna Service Dogs “breeds, raises, trains, and places assistance dogs and hearing dogs, as well as facility dogs, to assist children and adults with disability to lead the lives they want to live”, according to their website. They currently have over three hundred dogs of various training in their program.
The event was held with the intent to raise interest among Etown students in raising service dogs on campus. The event was open to anyone, including those who just wanted to learn more about service dogs and what they do.
“Service dogs are becoming increasingly common, so it is important for everyone to know the proper way to interact with working dogs to ensure they and their partner can be a successful team.” Machmer said.
Etown alumni and volunteers at the event talked to interested Etown students about the process of training a service dog. It was an exciting new chapter for Etown and all dog-lovers on campus to not only foster a pup, but provide an opportunity to volunteer for a good cause and join a community.
“Elizabethtown’s motto to Educate for Service makes it the perfect campus to do this kind of work on,” Machmer noted. “From a puppy raiser’s perspective, college campuses expose puppies in training to many different sights, sounds and situations that will prepare them for whatever they may come across during their career.”
Machmer explained that the puppy raisers teach skills to the dogs for about eighteen months, at which point the dog will go on to work with professional staff to choose the career that is best for them.
“Our program is driven by the belief that service dogs change lives, and every dog raised is another life impacted for the better,” Machmer said.
Not only would the puppies in training benefit from becoming accustomed to new environments, students would also benefit from a furry friend on campus. An article published in the National Library of Medicine stated that students who interacted with therapy dogs on campus experienced mood improvements and reduced stress And as Etown’s therapy dog Truman can surely attest, having dogs on campus improves many people’s mood.
Dogs in the Dell is hosting a puppy raiser interest meet on Oct. 8, as well as an end of semester de-stress on Nov. 19, an event to relax with the puppies as the semester winds down. Machmer also shared that Dogs in the Dell is open to everyone, and being a volunteer or a dog trainer is not a requirement.
“We want to share our passion for service dogs, disability rights advocacy, and a deep love for animals,” she said. “Service dogs do amazing things every day for so many people, and we want to share their stories with others.” For more information on volunteering or raising a service dog in training, follow Dogs in the Dell on Instagram.
