Dogs bring paws-itive vibes to campus

Malone Mall was looking a bit fluffier than usual last week. Underneath three blue tents, students milled about, eating paw-shaped cookies and kneeling to pet the nine dogs who were visiting campus for a very special, tail-wagging occasion.

“Paws-Itive Vibes” is an annual event that took place on Thursday, Sept. 25. The gathering encourages University faculty to bring their own dogs on campus for students to interact with. It was started three years ago by former President Waded Cruzado and Heidi Gagnon, the current assistant to the vice president in administration and finance.

“President Cruzado and I had been talking about doing something like this, and three years ago she said, ‘OK, we’ve talked about it long enough, it's time for us to do it,’” Gagnon said as students flocked around Millie, her four-year-old toy Australian shepherd.

According to Gagnon, one of the main goals of the event is to provide a low-pressure environment where students can access resources and support they may not know how to find on their own. “We give the kids an opportunity, if anyone mentions they're having trouble with something — say dropping a class — we’ll connect them with the registrar's office,” Gagnon said.

Brianna BosMiller, the associate budget manager for the University Budget Office, was there with her mom Rachael Bos, an MSU alumna. They were standing under the shade of the tents with BosMiller’s lab and Portuguese water dog mix Chester drooling at their feet.

BosMiller said she has been involved with the event since it began. “Every year we have more people get involved. More staff ask, ‘Can I bring my dog?’” BosMiller said. “Last year, we were able to get those miniature horses and a miniature Highland cow.”

BosMiller said the event was a little more low-key this year. According to her, planning for “Paws-Itive Vibes” was a bit last-minute because organizers were unsure if the new MSU President Brock Tessman would want the event to continue. However, BosMiller said Tessman had no interest in ending the tradition.

BosMiller said she is passionate about the event because she works at MSU for the students. “I work in a non-student-facing role,” she said. “So, this is the one time a year I get to do that. I love seeing the students.”

Junior Matthew McGraw and sophomore Lizzie Tullis attended the event together. “I love dogs and animals,” McGraw said. “I think so many people on campus have pets at home that they don’t have here, and they miss them so much, so being able to interact with animals like dogs — I don't know, it makes me happy.”

“The whole purpose is to make the students smile in the middle of the day, and I think that's nice,” Tullis said.

Tullis added that she would love to meet chemistry professor Steven Holmgren’s dog because she hears the professor talk about his pet a lot in class.

McGraw only had one complaint about the event: “I wish there was a corgi here, I’m a big corgi fan — but it's OK, I love all dogs,” he said.