On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, a therapy dog named Marlowe came to the Downtown Berkeley Public Library. Marlowe, a Cavalier King Charles, is a dog with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs Foundation. Established in 1990, the foundation has facilities located all across America. Marlowe’s visit consisted of many cuddles and a large crop of Berkeley High School students sitting in the teen center at the library.
At around 4:00 p.m., Marlowe entered the teen room and was greeted with overwhelming love. A few minutes later, everyone had gotten a chance to pet him. As she was cuddling with Marlowe, Katherine Howarth, a BHS freshman, said, “I feel very emotionally supported, and I really feel like the dog can feel what I’m feeling.” Everyone was told they could lift up the dog and hold him. Additionally, a bag of treats was passed around, and Marlowe did a few tricks, including lying down and sitting with the incentivization of treats.
This event was sent out a total of seven times in email announcements and was publicized in the bulletin on the day of the event. The librarians at the downtown library, Heather Cummins and her colleague, organized the event. “We reached out to the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, and we basically set up a profile as an organization that wanted to work with them,” Cummins said.
Jeff Simon, a worker at the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, was there to supervise Marlowe. When speaking on the topic of therapy dogs, Simon said, “We train and visit places with therapy dogs. Hospitals, places like this, kids and adults, anyone who needs some sort of pet therapy.” Therapy dogs can often be seen as emotional support and can help when visiting places like hospitals and schools in order to aid people in need.
“I think, as you can see, people get really calm around therapy dogs. (Marlowe) visits a lot of sick kids, and they just seem to perk up when he’s there, I think he just gives them a sense of compassion,” Simon said.
This theme of compassion was felt by participants. “I feel really good because it brought a real sense of happiness into the room, and I think it helped a lot of students,” Lila Dooley, a BHS freshman who attended the event, said.
“I think he can be supportive and help calm people down and be able to take a break and just pet the dogs,” Ava Schumaker, a BHS freshman, said.