Kettering College Pet Therapy Dog Touched Many
November 14, 2024 –Kettering College recently lost a furry friend who brightened people’s days when he came to campus. Ike was a trained pet therapy dog who belonged to Dr. Paula Reams of the Nursing Division.
Paula came up with the idea to bring Ike to campus several years ago after reading about how pet therapy reduces anxiety and lowers blood pressure. She was presenting this information in a Nursing course that looked at complementary therapy options and thought Kettering College students and Kettering Health patients would benefit from pet therapy. And she knew just the dog for the job.
She adopted Ike from SISCA when he was a puppy and was told he was from a farm. Ike was skinny and was afraid to go into a house. He didn’t know how to climb stairs and scurried away when a toilet flushed.
Through training, Ike progressed from a skittish farm dog to a certified pet therapy dog. He trained for his pet therapy test in the nursing skills lab with manikins, walkers, and other medical equipment to make a hospital setting familiar to him. He passed his test and began putting his skills to work.
Paula says Ike loved people and loved to be petted. She says, “He learned to lean into people when I said, ‘Go see him.’ This command was his cue to get petted and help the people around him to relax.” He came to Kettering College during exam weeks and to classes and became the unofficial mascot.
On Paula’s lunch breaks, she began taking Ike to Kettering Health to visit radiation oncology patients who looked forward to seeing him when they received their treatments. Ike even became an official volunteer and received a Kettering Health badge.
Stella Freeman works in Kettering College’s library and started to keep a stash of Milk Bones in the bookstore that used to be on campus. When Ike entered the college he knew where to find Stella and her treats. Stella says, “He was a special dog. I even had t-shirts made that we sold in the bookstore.”
After years of bringing joy to students, faculty, staff, patients, and the Reams family, Ike passed away in October after a long life full of fun, snuggles, and service to others to lift them up, just by being himself.
Dr. Scott Bennie, dean of Academic Affairs at Kettering College, saw the joy Ike brought to campus. He says, “Ike was a very good friend and source of encouragement to so many, including me. In many ways, he was actually very Christ-like in that he sat and just took the emotional strain we brought to him, and we transferred to him through our touch. I’m thankful for the peace and comfort he provided and will miss that and him greatly.”
Thank you for your service, Ike, and we’ll keep the Milk Bones ready for you.
(All Photos Courtesy of Dr. Paula Reams)
About Kettering College
Kettering College is a fully accredited, faith-based healthcare college in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, offering career-focused medical degrees through traditional and accelerated programs. A division of Kettering Health, Kettering College is located on the Kettering Health Main Campus and is chartered by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.