The Bantam has a new friend! A Labrador retriever puppy named Cooper is now bringing smiles to Trinity College.
Cooper joins the Campus Safety Department as a community support dog in training. He will attend selected College events and be a friendly daily presence on campus, working alongside his handler and bonding with the community. The Trinity community was involved in naming the puppy by providing suggestions through the College’s Instagram account.
The puppy was born on May 4 and arrived at Trinity in late June, when he was just eight weeks old. Cooper was selected after the Campus Safety team visited with several dogs during the search for an effective support animal. He will be partnered with Campus Safety Officer Corey Googe as his handler and will live at the officer’s home.
Campus Safety Operations Administrator John Tollis, who spent 13 years as a K-9 handler with the Connecticut State Police, said, “Everyone recognizes the remarkable impact a dog can have, lifting spirits in an instant. Often, we don’t realize just how much someone may need that moment of joy.”
A community support dog is a specially trained dog that works with its handler in a professional setting—like a school or hospital—to provide emotional support, facilitate therapy, and improve social interactions. Cooper is not a service or police dog, Tollis said, but he will be trained to support individuals in a group setting and enhance therapeutic interventions.
“At first, we will do our own basic dog training—the usual ‘sit,’ ‘stay,’ ‘come,’ ‘heal’—and will give Cooper time to acclimate to the Trinity campus and community, going into buildings and getting comfortable with being around people,” Tollis said. “Right away, we are going to benefit from having the dog just being in and around our community.”
Once Cooper reaches the appropriate level of maturity, he and Googe will undergo training and certification that meet standards comparable to those set by Assistance Dog International (ADI). Cooper will then be a full-time certified community support dog at Trinity, spending time on campus providing comfort, stability, and support to students, faculty, staff, and visitors.
Campus Safety will field requests from the Trinity community to visit with Cooper and to invite him to College events. Tollis said, “We do know that a dog this age needs a lot of rest, so we’ll be mindful of which requests we can accommodate. I think our community will be very understanding of that.”
Campus Safety Director Donna Tadiello, who also was a K-9 handler while serving with the Connecticut State Police, said that community support dogs are becoming increasingly common at educational institutions. “Knowing firsthand the amazing work service animals are capable of, I am overcome with enthusiasm in bringing a community support dog program to Trinity. John and I talked to many working dog experts and others in higher education and feel we have picked out the perfect dog for our Trinity community,” Tadiello said. “Cooper already shows great spirit and a glowing personality!”
Follow Cooper’s adventures on campus via social media @trinpup.
