Students were greeted by EIU’s newest therapy dog in training, “Paw-fficer Naja,” at the Boogie and Balance Wellness Fair on Thursday in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.
Naja is a rescue Shih Tzu mix and is a new edition to the EIU Police Department. She is in training to be a law enforcement therapy dog.
Naja’s handler is Sergeant Andrea Beals, who guided her around the event.
“We’re calling this a rookie in the training stage. This is what we want her to do and make sure she can pass this and get her certified,” Beals said.
Students were able to walk, hold and pet Naja.
“Therapy dogs are great at breaking the ice and making connections,” Beals said. “They help officers build rapport with our students and break down some barriers. They can be used in times of crisis when our students or community can use the extra support.”
Working with Naja has been a success, she said.
“Naja has been with us for a couple of months, and already the turnout for the event was well attended as students were excited to see her too,” said Beals.
In addition to Naja, the fair also featured a wellness zone by the university board and free student flu shots. Attendees were able to go from table to table and talk to different people about mental health and self-care strategies.
According to Matthew Warner, the assistant director of the Health Education Resource Center, the event focused on both physical and mental health and had the goal of helping students learn to take care of themselves.
“The main purpose of the event is really to connect students with resources they don’t know about within the Charleston and Mattoon community. But mainly Central Illinois overall because we got a wide variety of individuals here,” he said.
Warner said that health and well-being problems can negatively affect students.
“We try to invite groups from all of the dimensions of health and well-being as we know being impacted in one area of health and well-being can then impact others to the detriment of student health,” Warner said.
He said that he was very pleased with the level of attendance.
“We are really thrilled with the turnout. We’re very thankful for all of our partners on campus and local partners putting this together,” Warner said. “What we’re seeing right now is a successful event.”
Sophomore marketing major Summer Peoples attended the event and said she appreciates all that therapy pets give to students at school, even though she doesn’t have one of her own.
“I’ve seen many students stop what they’re doing to see them at different events on campus. I think therapy pets bring relaxation to stressful environments. People go through hard times, especially as a student, like work and life. So, it’s very sweet that they are here to make someone else’s day, especially mines,” Peoples said.
Koria Downs can be reached at 581-2812 or at kdowns@eiu.edu.
