Pooches looking to support anxious vaxxers at Prairieland Park

“This was way better than the first.”

Those were the words of Kove Staniowski, moments after he was inoculated with two furry friends there for his support.

The two pups — Womble and Laddie — were there a bit early Thursday for a media demonstration of the latest push to get people vaccinated — bringing in therapy dogs for those with anxiety.

The joint venture between St. John Ambulance, the University of Saskatchewan Pet Therapy program and the Saskatchewan Health Authority runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Prairieland Park.

Seven four-legged friends are at the facility Thursday, while two dogs will be rotated through, hourly on the weekend shift.

Stephanie Peachey is the provincial evaluator and coordinator for St. John Ambulance in Saskatchewan and she said the pups are there for comfort and support.

“The dogs are there to just be there to give them some of that energy that they might need to get that little shot in the arm. We’re just here to help whoever we can,” she said.

This was the first official in-person visit for the dogs since March 2020, according to Peachey.

She added that the teams needed to know how COVID affected the dogs, along with the safety of both the teams and the canines.

“We didn’t really feel quite comfortable until now, and now we feel (like) we’re ready to get back going now,” said Peachey.

Colleen Dell is a professor at the U of S and the research chair of the program. She explained the ins and outs of what happens when the dogs are there for support.

“Many things happen when we see a dog and one of them is it brings up memories, and they bring up memories of our own pets, often times when we were younger as well,” she said. “And then when we actually pet the dog, we have oxytocin. Those love hormones … It’s really great when you’re around them that you can have those feel-good feelings.”

Peachey said there is the potential for the therapy dogs to come back out for future vaccine drives, with the thought also being of expanding it across the province.

Dell said dogs don’t judge, and if an individual who may feel judged for not getting their vaccine early, it may be that final push they need to roll up their sleeves.

A few more, because — why not! pic.twitter.com/gOTqVb9MTg

— Brady Lang (@BradyLangSK) August 19, 2021