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News: H.A.B.I.T. animals provide comfort to Roane State students starting new semester

Austin Stanton and Terez Templin admire Daisy Mae, a Goldendoodle that’s a member of the H.A.B.I.T. program that allows trained dogs to interact with people to provide emotional support.

Sept. 15, 2017

By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer

Students smiled as they approached the Learning Center on the second floor of Roane State’s Harriman campus library.

Greeting them were three friendly, furry faces - two Goldendoodles, one named Daisy Mae and the other dubbed Willow, along with Lucy, a fox terrier mix.

The dogs are three of the stars of H.A.B.I.T., which stands for Human-Animal Bonding In Tennessee. That program, now more than 30 years old, includes representatives from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and numerous volunteers with their trained dogs.

It’s a nationally recognized program to bring the benefits of canine companionship to those under stress, ill, lonely or depressed.

The dogs’ visit to Roane State’s Harriman and Oak Ridge campuses served two purposes: to give students anxious about the start of school a chance to unwind, and to acquaint them with the Learning Center and its services.

“Our goal is to increase students’ comfort level which will, in turn, increase the likelihood of academic success,” said Mike Hill, director of Roane State’s Learning Centers and Learning Support.

In addition to providing stress relief, Hill said the visit by H.A.B.I.T. volunteers and their pets also gave students “an incentive to visit with staff and faculty and learn more about the academic support services available to help them succeed.”

Hill said Robin Leib at the Oak Ridge Learning Center, along with biology department professors Dr. Pam Siergiej and Dr. Kathryn Wibking, “initiated the visits at the Oak Ridge campus in the spring semester, and we are now expanding our participation to Harriman.”

Daisy Mae’s owner, Pepper Marcum of Friendsville, said she and Daisy Mae have visited area hospitals to bring solace and companionship to patients as well their families.

Marcum said she’s seen “the light go on in the eyes” of people suffering from depression when they’re visited by Daisy Mae.

Freshman Terez Templin of Rockwood stopped by to pet Daisy Mae, looking pert with yellow and pink bows encasing two clumps of fur on her head. “I really love dogs,” Terez said, “and I also wanted to know more about tutoring."

 

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