Elmo and Viago

with Mara Thacker

Elmo is a 5 year old Parson Russell Terrier Poodle mix rescued from a shelter in Hoopeston, IL. He has a magnificent beard and loves learning tricks. His favorite food is cheese.

Viago is a 2 year old chiweenie adopted during quarantine. He loves playing with squeaky toys and will do anything for popcorn!

Ghost and Ben

with Sarah Christensen

Ben is a 3 year old yellow lab whose personality is best described as 80% clown and 20% baby. When he’s not trying to make you laugh with his antics he’s perfecting the art of being a little spoon.

Ghost is a 5 year old brindle pit bull who loves being told how handsome he is. He’s *mostly* perfectly mannered, and thinks tug-of-war is the only game worth playing.

Maple

with Shweta from McKinley Health Center

Maple is a 10 month-old toy poodle. Maple loves eating cheese and playing! She's a huge cuddle bug with lots of love to share.

Morgan

with TIm Newman

Her official name is “Captain Morgan,” but we call her Morgan.  She is a 2yr old brown lab, who is full of energy.  She knows a few commands and is extremely loving.

Kelpie

with Susan Braxton

Kelpie is a 1.5 year old Australian kelpie mix adopted from a rescue in April of 2020.  She was abandoned as a puppy, then lost another home at 10 months when her first adopter had a stroke and could no longer live at home.   She is an intense, athletic, and very entertaining little dog, and we feel very lucky to have found her.

Archie

with Alice Cary

Archie is a mixed breed from the Bahamas, he definitely has some sort of retriever and perhaps Australian Shepard in his DNA. Mixed breed dogs from the Bahamas are often referred to as “Potcakes”. Archie was surrendered to a shelter in the Grand Bahamas when he was 6 months old and was in the shelter for several month before Hurricane Dorian hit the islands. A 10 foot title wave hit the shelter whereas over 200 animals perished, Archie was one of 95 that survived. Archie was recused and housed by the Halo rescue group out of Florida where he was chosen to be a  candidate for a therapy dog program run by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office in Titusville, Florida; the Paws and Stripes College. This program consists of inmates who train the shelter dogs on basic obedience for 10 weeks to in order to prepare the dogs for therapy work. Potential K9 handlers from across the country apply to the Paws and Stripes college where they are paired with a dog and train with their new partner for 40 hours and then tested. All the dogs are donated to law enforcement and veterans to provide emotional support and help de-stress traumatic incidents, provide comfort and help with any other day to day stressors . Archie provides day to day comfort for our Public Safety Department staff and the campus community at large. Archie provides individuals with many smiles. He is a comfort and joy for those who meet him!

Izzie and Ares

with Dean Wilkin

Izzie is a 45lb Border Collie mix. Ares is a smallish, aggressive male cat who dominates Izzie.

Phoebe

with Heather Murphy

 Phoebe is a 9-month old Australian labradoodle. Her family brought her home in May, so they’re calling her their quarantine puppy. She recently completed a puppy obedience class and knows a few tricks. Phoebe loves going for walks, playing fetch, chewing and destroying most everything in sight, and trying to play (but not really succeeding) with her two cat siblings, Eleanor Rigby and Lola. She definitely provides a lot of therapy for her family as she’s always eager to snuggle…and she loves tummy rubs!

Shanti

with Jane Desmond

Shanti is an adopted 6 year old Keeshund and Cattle dog mix. His favorite game is "Monster" where I pretend to be a giant monster coming towards him and he pretends to run away as if he is very very afraid, and then races back for more!

Jane Desmond is Professor of Anthropology and of Gender and Women's Studies at UIUC where she also teaches in the College of Veterinary Medicine.  A specialist in the cultural dimensions of human-animal relations, she is the author/editor  of several books and the Founding Resident Director of the UIUC -ASI Summer Institute in Animal Studies.

Rue and Indy

with Sara Benson

Rue and Indy are 10 week old Beagle pups and siblings!

Zola 

with Wendy and Erin

Zola, aka Princess Malibu Barbie, is 20 year old Gemini Vegetarian Paint Breeding Stock Mare hailing from Tuscola, Illinois. Breeding stock = no spots. Zola enjoys eating treats, eating in general, chin scratches, torturing her barnmates, sharing her myriad of opinions with everyone around her, games of chase when her owner would like to catch her, moving just fair enough away from the mounting block, spooking at invisible monsters, and attempting to hide behind trees without realizing she is too big to do so.  Her owner has loved her bunches and enjoyed her special antics since 2002.