Depending on where you meet him, Duo Dog Woody will be ready to cater to whatever you need at that moment. He might bring you a toy, come up to you for pets or just sit with you in comfort.
Woody, a two-year-old English Labrador Retriever, is a facility dog from Duo Dogs, and is the first Duo Dog to be working on a university campus.
Duo Dogs is a national nonprofit that seeks to connect dogs and people to create positive change in their lives. Duo trains assistance dogs, touch therapy dogs and facility dogs. According to Duo Dogs, facility dogs, like Woody, are trained to provide “comfort and courage” to people in a variety of situations.
Tori Harwood, SLU’s wellness coordinator and Woody’s primary handler said she is excited to partner with Duo Dogs because of how well their mission aligns with Saint Louis University’s broader mental health and well-being efforts.
“He’s really here to bring joy to the community, whether that’s faculty, staff, students or visitors,” Harwood said. “Maybe a student just had a really hard test, and they happen to be walking outside and see Woody and think ‘Oh, he can help me get rid of some stress.’”
The idea for SLU to have a Duo Facility Dog came from Matt Davis, the chief of staff in the office of the provost. Davis worked as a volunteer puppy raiser, whose job is to raise puppies from eight weeks to 18-months-old and socialize them before they go back to Duo to train to be paired with a client.
Davis thought about the possibility of SLU having its own Duo Dog, and from there, the idea took off. Eric Anderson, SLU’s assistant vice president for student well-being and one of Woody’s handlers, has also been involved from the beginning.
“I first visited them in October of 2022. We really had to think about the commitment, not just for SLU but for us as handlers,” Anderson said. “Given Tori’s work in mental health, and the role of SLU’s counseling center, it was really important to find the right folks to be handlers.”
Woody has four handlers with Harwood as his primary handler, meaning he goes home with her. Woody’s other secondary handlers are Anderson, Davis and Rebecca Weiser in the university counseling center. Woody will work at SLU until he is about 10-years-old.
Harwood, Anderson, Davis and Weiser completed several days of training learning how to be Woody’s handlers. Woody responds to a variety of commands, and can push the buttons that automatically open doors given the right command.
“I just love seeing all the smiles, or having someone ask if that’s Woody and if they can pet him,” Harwood said.
Already, Woody and his handlers are seeing a positive impact across campus. In early February, Woody got to go into a classroom and say hello to students, and the before and after effect was noticeable, Harwood said.
Harwood’s boss, Jesús Quiñones, who is also an adjunct faculty member in the communication department, had forgotten something he needed for his evening class. When Harwood brought the item and Woody to the class, and once everyone was okay with Woody coming in, most students came up and said hi. After seeing Woody, Quiñones said the class was talkative and engaged like never before.
With his friendly and happy demeanor, Woody is already bringing little pockets of joy to SLU, and Harwood said she is confident that Woody will continue to boost morale whenever he is around.
As of February, people can not request Woody to be at certain places or events, but the handlers said they are working on what a request system would look like.
When he is not working, Woody gets the zoomies, loves to play fetch and always loves to be around people, which is part of what makes him so perfect to be a Duo Facility Dog.
Woody wears a blue vest, and if you spot him on campus, it is absolutely okay to pet him or give him belly rubs after asking. After all, that is what he is there for.
You can follow Woody on Instagram @sluduodogwoody.
