CSUMB’s Otter Pups program currently has two therapy dogs: Blue, a golden retriever, and Dolly, a mini sheepadoodle. However, with the program’s growing popularity among students and staff, expansion plans are underway. By spring 2027, organizers hope to increase the number of therapy dogs as well as the events they attend.
Blue’s handler Lisa Leininger has played a key role in shaping the program’s growth. Campus Wellness Coordinator and a professor of kinesiology
When she isn’t handling Blue, Leininger is a professor of kinesiology who also serves as Campus Wellness Coordinator, an advisory role to university President Vanya Quiñones. “I use my area of expertise and knowledge in holistic wellness,” Leininger said. “I look at everything and see what we are doing really well and where we could improve.”
Blue came into Leininger’s life in February 2022. Immediately after meeting the five-month-old puppy, she realized his potential. “When we got Blue, I was like, ‘you’re a therapy dog,’” she said. “He just had this super high social capacity.”
Blue began his therapy dog certification spring 2023, joining the library’s Welcome to Finals study week as a resource for students suffering from end-of-semester stress.. Before Blue’s arrival, the week-long event partnered with The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in 2016 to obtain therapy dogs.
“I was like, ‘you know what? We should do this every week. He’s so popular,” Leininger recalled her conversation with Library Dean Jacqueline Grallo.
The idea became a reality by fall 2024 with the launch of Therapy Dog Corner in the library. Around the same time, Dolly, a sheepadoodle Leininger met during therapy dog training, joined the program.
Ever since, the Otter Pups have become a regular presence at campus events like Paws and Reflect yoga and Admitted Otter Day.
“There’s research that therapy dog programs that are paired with other stress management programs have higher levels of enjoyment, self-regulation and behavior change than if you did one of those things alone,” she said. “By pairing a therapy dog program with any other kind of mental health program, it has the potential to improve it.”
Beyond partnerships, students have shared how meaningful the program has been. “We have a lot of students tell us that it helps with their homesickness and missing their dogs,” Leininger said. “We were hearing all of this, and I was like, ‘We need more dogs.’”
According to Leininger, therapy dogs have been proven to improve mood, cognitive function, and learning, all of which are especially relevant in higher education. “There’s potential for these therapy dogs to actually improve your brain health,” she said.
“There’s research on an eight-week therapy dog program where students who had regular interaction with the dogs identified decreased homesickness and greater life satisfaction,” said Leininger. “I’ve seen all these things anecdotally as well, these are things students are telling me.”
“If something as simple as visiting with a therapy dog for a few minutes is a bright spot in their day, I think it’s a win-win.”
“In a world that feels so heavy sometimes, Blue is just happy to see people. He doesn’t judge,” she added. “When people are with him, they’re just present.”
Right now the demand is already exceeding capacity. “Right now, I’m working with Blue at least once a day somewhere,” Leininger said. “Yesterday he worked two shifts, but he really shouldn’t be doing more than that.”
To meet this demand, the program aims to grow by six therapy dogs by next spring, adding four pups to the team. Additional goals are creating a more formal request system for Otter Pup visits and developing the program’s identity through items like stickers, plushies and bandanas.
Leininger hopes that the Otter Pups will become a strong part of campus life. “What I really want is for these Otter Pups to be a regular presence–something that students and employees know about,” she said.