Depending on who you ask, the biggest celebrity on Elizabethtown College’s campus likely isn’t human. Rather, he is a big golden doodle named Truman. Truman is not your average pup: he is a therapy dog who makes his rounds around campus and even shows up at campus-wide events.
Truman is a therapy dog here at Etown, but he started as a service dog in training. He is a part of the organization KPETS, which stands for Keystone Pet Enhanced Therapy Services. This organization trains animals, mostly dogs, to become service animals and matches them with people with disabilities who could benefit from some extra help.
Andy Williams is the Director of Student Media and a Communications professor at Etown, as well as Truman’s owner. He is proud of how far Truman has come since his first day on campus: “He started as a service dog for the first 18 months but was released. His calmness and behavior made it an easy fit for us to adopt him and move him into therapy work.”
Truman was adopted just over nine years ago, on April 17th, 2015. He has been coming to Etown since he was only eight weeks old, originally as a service dog, and then, he was transitioned into the position of a therapy dog.
On an average day, Truman has a lot to do. Williams says that his dog keeps him company while he does his daily tasks, but he also has his own job to hang out with students.
“He has to do whatever I have to do for the day: support classes, work with students in the media center, attend meetings and such. In-between, I take my lunchtime to take him around campus, stops in the BSC, including the Blue Bean, Mail services and the college store, meeting as many students as we can. Some for quick pets, some for pictures or for answering questions,” Williams said.
The pup has shown up to countless events over the years, including Homecoming, first-year move-in day, commencement and Accepted Students Days for prospective students. During his long reign as Etown’s most famous dog, Truman has both welcomed new students and said goodbye to graduating students.
He also served as a judge for Mx. Etown on Friday, April 26th. This show is a pageant for competing students to represent their residence halls.
Truman is a beloved member of the Etown community, and his presence is always sure to make people smile. According to Williams, the dog loves hanging out with students as much as they love to hang out with him.
Elise McCann is a first-year biotechnology major who loves to see Truman every once in a while.
“I feel happy when I see him because he’s always happy and calm, and also because he’s so cute!”
It is heartwarming to see how excited the campus community gets when Truman is around; the dog has made a huge impact on Etown students and faculty just by lowering their stress a little bit.
“We are blessed to share him with our campus family; he truly loves to visit and hang out with the students and be the unofficial mascot of Etown,” Williams said. “When someone says, “This just made my day,” I think it lets us know this is the job for him.”
