Since the Future Leader Dogs at Oakland University first originated, a big goal for the club was to push for their dogs to be allowed to stay in the dorms on campus. As of the 2025 winter semester, the club has become the first of its kind to allow an in-residence university program.
After years of advocating for this moment in the club’s history, Mackenzie Nichols, the president of Future Leader Dogs at Oakland University, explains the journey that led to their puppies into the dorms.
“Ever since I first stepped into the program about five years ago, I know it’s been something we’ve been pushing for,” Nichols said. “I wrote my first proposal for housing about four years ago, and at the time, we didn’t have a housing director, so it just went off and we didn’t hear anything back.”
Once Robert King took over the role as housing director, the club was in luck.
“I bombarded him (Robert King) with a whole proposal for housing, and it finally came into fruition,” Nichols said. “We took him to Leader Dog, and we showed him the facilities there. We showed him the difference and the impact that these dogs can make and it finally led to a big change.”
The club has become a trailblazer in the Leader Dog community by not only being their first in-residence university program, but also by the size of their club and the number of FLD puppies supported by their program.
“It’s a whole puppy revolution,” Nichols said. “We went from three dogs last year to 13, including my own puppy this year. I’ve been there since the first puppy pickup to now, and it’s crazy how much we’ve grown and how we’ve changed, and how many people love and support our programs.”
As OU’s future leader dog club has grown, Nichols hopes it will impact similar clubs around the state, and help them take that next step.
“MSU has a future leader dog club, and they only have three dogs on campus, but hopefully this will help them take that next step,” Nichols said. “I know there’s a bunch of other local universities trying to start clubs and start programs, but because Michigan Law is a little funky when it comes to service dogs and training, they haven’t been successful. Even just having the opportunity to start programs at those universities would be amazing.”
While the puppies on campus are exciting to see in person, it is important to be respectful of each of them, especially while they are on duty.
“Especially with these puppies, living in housing, they’re going to be a lot more prevalent on campus,” Nichols said. “I ask that our community treat them like they would any other working or service dog out there like when they are working. Ignore them, don’t make eye contact, and treat them as you would any other service dog, because they are service dogs and training with the goal of them becoming leader dogs.”
To learn more about the Future Leader Dogs at Oakland University, visit their instagram page @ou_futureleaderdogs, or visit their GrizzOrgs page.
