Students pose with a therapy dog from the ARL in Building 5 on April 9.
On Wednesday, April 9, therapy dogs from the Animal Rescue League visited the DMACC Ankeny campus as part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. ARL volunteers Rusty Shore and Cyndy Phelps brought dogs Bennet and Oakley to Building 5 after Criminal Justice major Kierstin Trost reached out to them.
Shore, the owner of Bennet, has been volunteering with the ARL since March. He does his best to bring Bennet to volunteer events while balancing his full-time job. He said he loves to bring Bennet to school events.
The ARL’s therapy dog program, “Therapets,” is active across central Iowa with the goal of helping people decompress. Some of the places the program has gone to include federal buildings, manufacturing plants, K-12 schools, and college campuses. They often work with the “Child Serve” program, focusing on assisting troubled children.
Phelps said one of the most satisfying moments from her and Oakley’s time volunteering was when a high school student said, “I can go on now, I can finish the day” during a high school visit on finals week.
Trost, the event organizer, said the National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is a national event that “has a national theme people loosely follow; DMACC is one of the (Des Moines) metro schools that participate.”
The therapy dogs were just one of many NCVRW events at DMACC. There were tables set up in Building 5 where students could find resources to help in the case of becoming a victim of many crimes, largely revolving around abuse. The day ended with a “healing bonfire” provided by DMACC Fire Science program chair Brent Conklin.
On Tuesday, the events began with “What They Wore,” an art installation in Building 5 by DMACC fashion students, featuring clothing worn by crime victims.
There was also a multitude of presentations from keynote speakers and first responders. One speaker was Emma Dedic-Sakanovic, who talked on Tuesday about her experience surviving the Bosnian war.
On Wednesday, Brenda Bash Cooper from the Iowa Department of Justice, Victim Assistance Section, gave a talk called “Vicarious Trauma for First Responders.”
Author Cheyenne Hanson presented a talk Wednesday morning and afternoon, discussing overcoming trauma and transforming it into something positive, with both presentations live-streamed.
Trost became a student organizer through her commitment as a Criminal Justice work-study student. When asked by her chair professor what would be a fun event for students, Trost said, “Dogs for sure,” and reached out to the ARL.
Attending students certainly agreed. “I love to hear the laughter from the room,” said Criminal Justice Major Mika Canon.
Ian Grimes, a fellow Criminal Justice Major, agreed, “I love dogs!”
Trost said, “I’m glad people actually came; we’ve got a lot of events for the week, and this is just one of the early events. Over the past day and today, we’ve already seen a couple hundred people.”
Trost wanted to use the event as a way to help students, asking them to reach out for help if needed, mentioning the many resources around campus. She also suggested keeping an eye on the student activities council to see monthly events.
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