Oscar, the golden retriever, is a mental health celebrity at Queen’s.
As Queen’s therapy dog, Oscar has been coming to the University for six years, building his reputation as a warm and cuddly friend for students.
“Everyone knows his name. Everybody. I can’t get past the front door because the moment we walk in, students are crowding around him to pet him,” John Tamkee, Oscar’s handler, said in an interview with The Journal while walking Oscar through Mitchell Hall.
“I hear it all the time: ‘there’s Oscar.’ They love him here,” Tamkee said, as more students swarmed Oscar for hugs.
Compared to service dogs, Oscar’s job is different. Oscar isn’t specially trained to provide medical assistance. Instead, he provides a moment of reprieve for students amidst chaotic university life.
“I’m feeling so good after petting Oscar because I think furry friends are so important to have, and especially during stressful times in school,” Justine Gould, Med ’26, said.
Oscar and Tamkee travel between Kingston General Hospital and Queen’s while volunteering as a dog-handler duo for the St. John Ambulance therapy dog program. The program tests dogs on their ability to stay calm in possibly stressful environments before sending them out as volunteers.
“[Oscar] loves it when people come up to say ‘hi’ to him. The therapy works very well when people pet him, so it’s quite encouraged,” Tamkee said.
Dogs are highly empathetic animals and can often tell if someone is feeling stressed or anxious, Tamkee explained. From a young age, Oscar was comfortable being swarmed by students.
“When he was a pup, I would take him to my boys’ school and he just learned to sit there as 300 kids climbed over themselves to get a hand on him,” Tamkee said.
During exam season, Tamkee and Oscar try to make extra trips to Queen’s campus to bring stress-relief to students. Tamkee shared some students purposely seek out Oscar before an exam for some luck.
Since Student Wellness Services (SWS) began the therapy dog program, groups around Queen’s have started hosting their own therapy dogs.
“In of research, spending time with animals is shown to improve mental health and that’s just what we’re trying to get at when we invite John here,” Erin Burns, health promotion project specialist at SWS, said in an interview with The Journal.
Since its inception, the therapy dog initiative has received exclusively positive , and SWS has helped residences and faculties run therapy dog programs. The demand is growing so quickly volunteers are struggling to keep up.
“There are more requests for therapy dogs than there are therapy dogs to go to these places,” Tamkee said.
Students shouldn’t be too concerned at Queen’s, Tamkee said. Oscar is here to stay.
“This is one of the only places he pulls me around. Everywhere else I’m having to get him to come along, [here] he pulls me,” Tamkee said.
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