Therapy dog, Sunny, high fives his owner Kathy Williams, a recruitment specialist for academic relations at OSU-Tulsa.

Eight therapy dogs graduate as official members of Pete’s Pet Posse Tulsa

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Eight new pet therapy dogs officially joined Pete's Pet Posse Tulsa during a Barkalaureate ceremony on March 29.

The group is the third class of P3T dogs and handlers to graduate from the program since its inception in 2015. The pet therapy dogs will serve on the campuses of Oklahoma State University-Tulsa and OSU-CHS.

P3T dogs serve as greeters, campus ambassadors and comforters in clinical or crisis situations. The goal of the program is to positively enhance physical and emotional health of students, faculty, staff and visitors on campus.

“Osteopathic medicine emphasizes a holistic approach to the promotion of health and wellness – the body, mind and spirit are all interconnected. The Pete’s Pet Posse program is a great example of how our furry friends can help us achieve higher levels of health and wellness by reducing the physical and psychological impact of stress that we all encounter at work or at school,” said Dr. Kayse Shrum, president of OSU-CHS, and dean of OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine.

P3T dogs belong to faculty and staff who go through a rigorous process of training and testing before their selection as P3T members.

The third class of P3T dogs and handlers are:

Augustus (Gus) and Kelsey Ryan, executive assistant for academic relations at OSU-Tulsa
Boone and Dr. Kathy Curry, associate professor of educational leadership at OSU-Tulsa
Caia and Jamie Edford, senior manager of marketing and communications services at OSU-Tulsa
Cleveland and Dr. Shannon Hillier, vice chair of the Department of Psychiatry and clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at OSU-CHS
Frankie and Dr. Laura Barnes, associate professor of educational research, evaluation, measurement and statistics at OSU-Tulsa
Jasper and Danielle Brown, Wellness Center attendant at OSU-Tulsa
Maggie and Dr. Krista Schumacher, coordinator of rural research and grant development at the OSU Center for Rural Health at OSU-CHS
Sunny and Kathy Williams, recruitment specialist for academic relations at OSU-Tulsa.

P3T is an expansion of the program launched at OSU-Stillwater as part of the university’s America’s Healthiest Campus wellness initiative.

To learn more about the program, visit the P3T website.