Puppy Kissing Booth | Photo by Abigail Abbott | The Wright State Guardian
Feb. 12 and 13 featured kisses and attention from the Raider Pups dogs at their yearly puppy kissing booth, bringing attention to what exactly Raider Pups does as well as their partner organization, 4 Paws for Ability.
Kissing booth
The kissing booth was in the Elizabeth Dixon Hearth Lounge, where students eating at the Student Union Market can often hear piano being played. Both days held the booth from 12 to 3 p.m. and featured off-duty service dogs owned or cared for by Raider Pups members.
The booth itself was covered in an array of pink and heart-themed decorations to encourage students to come, but the main attractions were the dogs themselves.
Students had a lovely time both days giving pets and attention to service animals taking a well-deserved break.
Next to the booth was a table featuring an explanation of Raider Pups as well as 4 Paws for Ability, an off-campus organization that Raider Pups works closely with.
Raider Pups and 4 Paws for Ability
Raider Pups is an on-campus club focused on giving service animals to students and others in need, as well as training these pups to become service animals in the future. The club also fundraises for children unable to afford a service dog of their own.
Austin Wolfe, treasurer of Raider Pups and accounting major, expresses a deep passion for the club and the people involved in it.
“Knowing that our hard work in training these dogs could help save someone’s life one day is as rewarding as you can get,” Wolfe said.
Raider Pups works in association with 4 Paws for Ability, an organization that works to breed, raise and train service dogs for children and veterans with disabilities. 4 Paws offers volunteer training to members of Raider Pups as well.
“4 Paws for Ability places over 120 service dogs annually, all trained with specific tasks and skills to mitigate the impacts of their partner’s disabilities,” the 4 Paws website reads.
4 Paws is located in Xenia, Ohio and offers a variety of opportunities for those who wish to help out where they can.
How to get involved
There are many ways to get involved with 4 Paws thanks to their volunteer opportunities. Students can choose to be a primary handler, secondary handler or an on-site volunteer.
Primary handlers keep their assigned dog with them at all hours of the day, but in the situation in which they cannot bring the dog to certain events, such as class, there are secondary handlers who briefly care for them until they can be given back to their primary handler.
There are options for those who can not care for a service pet full-time.
“4 Paws has on-site volunteers who assist with bathing, feeding, cleaning and playing with the dogs in the kennels at [Xenia],” Wolfe said.
While the process to become registered as a volunteer may take some time, it is absolutely worth it. Working with 4 Paws gives students an opportunity to interact with dogs and help them as they work towards becoming the best service animals they can be.
To volunteer for 4 Paws, visit their website.
For those looking for on-campus options, Raider Pups is an active, engaging club that offers plenty of opportunities for students to interact with the pets and maybe even get a service animal of their own.
Nova Heil, an elementary education major, joined the club last semester, looking for an involved but non-stressful club to be in. Heil recommended joining Raider Pups.
“It’s really a set-your-own-pace kind of club. All of our events are ‘come if you can,’ and even within the club, you can choose to be a passive member or pursue a volunteer membership through [4 Paws] and be more active,” Heil said.
Raider Pups is available on Engage; students are also encouraged to reach out to a member of the club if they would like to know more.
Both clubs offer volunteer opportunities as well as bonding experiences with both dogs and fellow humans. Service animals are important to many people, but they are quite expensive. Volunteering to help raise and train these dogs lifts a burden off of many peoples’ shoulders.
