St. Francis House Welcomes Therapy Pup
It seems only fitting, considering their patron saint, for St. Francis House Episcopal Student Center to welcome a puppy, Jackson, to their ministry team. The Rev. Bobbi Kraft investigated adopting a dog to work alongside her even before her arrival as chaplain at St. Francis House. Her research revealed the Bernedoodle breed to be highly trainable and (mostly) hypoallergenic for such work. When Brenda Wilz, owner of Wolf River Bernedoodles, heard of the intended work one of her pups would be doing with students, she decided to donate Jackson to Mother Bobbi for that work.
Young adults currently experience loneliness and anxiety at growing and alarming rates. Therapy dogs are valuable tools to help reduce the effects of anxiety and loneliness. Jackson has completed his first four weeks of training at Happy Pup Manor and will return there for another four in January. Student responses on the UW-Madison campus were positive prior to Jackson’s first round of training. The phrase, “You have no idea how much I needed this today!” was common.
With gratefulness to Brenda Wilz’s generosity, Jackson began his work with Mother Bobbi on Easter Sunday and returned from training on Ascension Day. He is truly a liturgical pup who is already lifting spirits on the University of Wisconsin campus!