COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s national dog month.

Our furry friends not only bring a smile to our faces, but studies show that having an animal companion can help relieve stress, especially on college campuses. 

What You Need To Know

  • Buckeye Paws a therapy dog assistance program with a mission to spread kindness and provide stress relief for students, faculty and staff at The Ohio State University

  • Buckeye Paws started as a program for Wexner Medical Center medical professionals but has expanded to cover the whole OSU campus

  • Buckeye Paws was co-founded by Beth Steinberg and Mary Justice in 2020 during the COVID pandemic

Shiloh and Brienne are no stranger to spreading kindness. They are the pets to Buckeye Paws co-founders Beth Steinberg and Mary Justice. 

“So we see this all the time. We'll be walking across campus, and people will be trudging along. Maybe they have their phone that they're looking at their schedules or something," Steinberg said. "And as soon as they see the dogs, they smile."

What started as a program for the Wexner Medical Center during the pandemic to help medical professionals has now expanded across the entire The Ohio State University campus. Buckeye Paws is a therapy dog assistance program with a mission to spread kindness and relieve stress for students, faculty and staff. 

“When we moved to campus, I thought, well, these are college kids. They're going to be happy and carefree and just having a great time," Steinberg said. "We heard the same things from our students. They were anxious, they were depressed. Their mood was down. They missed home." 

Steinberg sees firsthand every day the joy the therapy dogs bring to the campus. She says the dogs remind the students of their furry friends back home. 

“They miss their own pets at home," she said. "They’ve had this constant companion with them, and now they're in an apartment or a dorm, and they can't have those pets close by."

Mary Justice has been involved with dog therapy for years and says it’s her calling. 

“It feels very good," she said. "That's a very easy way of saying that it is fulfilling to me because it's something that I believe in very strongly, that being able to give back to others, to be kind, to be there, to listen, is a core value of what we as human beings are supposed to be doing for each other."

Buckeye Paws handlers are Ohio State staff who have worked in healthcare. Justice says it’s the handlers and the university’s belief in their program that has made it as popular as it is today. 

“I really, really applaud Ohio State and the Wexner Medical Center for reaching out and trying something different because we are actually recognized as one of one in the country that has done this to the level that we have done it,” she said.