To help with the stressors of midterms, the Los Medanos Library welcomed back the Hug Pack on Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Students and staff were greeted at the library’s entrance by three-year-old therapy dog Dolce and her owner, Ralph Kapostins.
Kapostins has had Dolce since she was a puppy and explained that training her to become a therapy dog began on day one.
“We started training her the day we got her,” Kapostins said. “Working towards each program has different certifications [and] once you pass those tests they start sending you out on assignments.”
Kapostins explained they go to many different places for what he described as a “serotonin fix.”
“We go to hospitals, hospice, police departments, fire departments, [and] we do a read-to-dogs program at the Brentwood library,” Kapostins said. “Five to seven-year-olds read to Dolce.”
He explained the reading program is one of his favorites because of the “fantastic experiences” they have had there. He had a smile on his face as he recounted a moment he described as “just wonderful.”
“An immigrant mom came with her two boys and the boy was just learning English and it was at the end of the shift and [Dolce] usually gets sleepy, so she lies down and the boy finishes the sentence, he looks down at the dog laying there and puts his book down and his head on her,” Kapostins said.
Many students were pleasantly surprised to find Dolce and stopped to give her some love on their way into the library to do homework and study for upcoming tests.
Student Fatima Vences felt the positive impact of interacting with the therapy dog.
“It was very stress relieving, it’s very nice how they get so happy to see you,” Vences said.
Student Analee Botello spoke similarly when she expressed she left feeling “Comforted.”
Everyone had nothing but good things to say about interacting with Dolce. Student Samantha Pitzer described her as “well-trained and such a sweetheart.”
“It feels very warm because there is a different level of social interaction that you don’t get at school, at least for me because I am an animal lover,” Pitzer said. “It is very grounding to have that extra little special thing before possibly intense classes.
It is that exact reason Kapostins says he takes Dolce out to places for people to interact with her.
“It’s all about making people feel good for a moment,” Kapostins said.
