On January 18, Oakland University was visited by the Pawsitive Changes therapy dogs. Two friendly canines and their owners were able to drop by to help students relieve their stress. The visiting pups warmed the hearts of the students who passed through the Oakland Center.
One of these therapy dogs was Goldie, a goldendoodle. Her owners, Anthony Gallina and Victoria Martinuzzi, are both OU alumni, with Gallina still working on campus as the director of corporate relations for the School of Engineering and Computer Science.
“We needed a hypoallergenic dog because we have family members who are allergic, and so the goldendoodles are the perfect dog for that,” Gallina said. “So we did try to rescue them, but they were adopted very quickly. It was an opportunity for us then to find a good breeder and one that we knew had good genetics, so we lucked out with this one.”
Martinuzzi enjoys it when Goldie brings joy to others. Martinuzzi recalls her favorite memory with Goldie.
“Probably going to Children’s Village, which is the local county detention facility,” Martinuzzi said. “The first time we went there, the kids absolutely loved it and she made their day. I think that was a really special memory to kind of just bring joy to those kiddos.”
Another therapy dog who came to visit Oakland University’s campus was Estelle, an Australian Shepherd. Although she has no tail to wag, you can tell how happy she is by the smile on her face. Her owner, Vickie Meredith, recalls how she first met Estelle.
“I’m friends with her breeder, and the breeder was training her to be a service dog, but she was too friendly and she couldn’t maintain her focus,” Meredith said. “She put her up for sale and we got her.”
While Estelle was meant to be a service dog, her old job was passed down to her litter of puppies.
“When we got her we agreed to breed her one time, so we bred her to a phenomenal Australian Shepherd service dog,” Meredith said. “The intent of the litter was to get service dogs, and he was deceased, so they were pupsicles. Two of the puppies are already service dogs, alerting for seizures, and we kept one that didn’t make that cut.”
Through their time together, Meredith’s favorite memory with Estelle was being able to raise and take care of Estelle’s puppies.
“I wasn’t supposed to raise the puppies,” Meredith said. “The breeder was gonna do it, but she got COVID five days after she gave birth. So I raise puppies from age five days to eight and a half weeks. Oh my gosh. Beautiful. Wonderful. Horrible.”
For students who missed out on the opportunity to meet these therapy dogs, the Pawsitive Changes therapy dogs will be visiting the Oakland Center consistently every two weeks throughout the semester.
To learn more about the Pawsitive Changes service, please visit their website at www.pawsitivechanges.org.
