This year, Mississippi State University welcomed its first-ever facility dog, Angus, to campus. With help from his owner, Meg Gustafson, 5-year-old Angus is available for office hours to offer companionship and comfort to MSU’s student body.

Gustafson is a graduate student who returned to MSU with Angus to pursue a master’s degree in human development and family science.

As a facility dog, Angus has been trained in many settings and knows 40 commands that help him support his handler and clients. Unlike service dogs, facility dogs are not trained to meet the needs of a specific individual but are taught to socialize and perform tasks in a wide variety of environments. Most importantly, facility dogs are trained to support the public, so for Gustafson to bring Angus to MSU, she had to find a way for Angus to continue serving the public.

Canine Companions, the organization that raised Angus, provides all their dogs free of charge.

“Their one stipulation is that the dogs work because they are bred specifically to enter the work life,” Gustafson said. “In order for Angus to move with me from Houston to Mississippi, I had to show the company that I could still utilize Angus and his services.”

With guidance from some of her former mentors at MSU, Gustafson came up with the idea of offering office hours for students. Angus has also helped create a positive and therapeutic environment outside of office hours at the T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability.

Maya Harlow, a second-year veterinary student focusing her career on assistance, sporting and service dogs, was one of the founders of Puppies With A Purpose, which was created in 2021. She said that the organization helps college students prepare puppies for future service or facility dog careers.

Harlow also has experience raising dogs for Canine Companions, the same organization that raised and trained Angus.

“There’s a few different careers but they have the same exact public raising experience,” Harlow said.  “I raised two dogs for [Canine Companions] back in high school, and I had one that went to be a facility dog, and the other went to be a service dog.”

After returning from the annual facility dog summit, Gustafson noted that there were participants from all over the country. At this conference, Gustafson saw handlers from various occupations, including chaplains, physicians, speech therapists, social workers, and physical therapists.

“The handlers are breaking into all kinds of different environments,” Gustafson said, “and and they’re seeing how adding a dog can enhance the incredible work that people are already doing.”

Harlow believes that Angus’ presence at MSU could greatly benefit students.

“A big thing with these college students is that they’re moving on their own for the first time,” Harlow said. “They’re often leaving their pets behind…so having a dog that is well-behaved and is trained to be able to help them is such an asset to be able to help them adjust not only to college life but also to living alone for the first time and making all these big life transitions”.

According to the MSU Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, 33.32% of MSU’s student body was listed under out-of-state enrollment, with another 3.78% of the student body listed as international or exchange students. This means that over a third of MSU’s student body had a lengthy commute home last year, limiting how often they could return home for comfort and contact with family, friends and pets.

Though he is new to MSU, Angus has already become popular with some students.

“Angus can play games…we can go for a walk…so the goal of the session is really for whatever that student needs,” Gustafson said.

Though Gustafson does not provide counseling services, she knows students who visit her can struggle with their personal lives.

“[Angus] provides unconditional love; he’s happy to see anybody who walks through the door…there’s zero judgment,” she said.

Gustafson already has some students who schedule office hours with her every week to visit Angus.

“[They’ve] formed a bond with Angus already, and they have seen the benefits of coming and petting him,” Gustafson said. “I think it has a huge impact on decreasing anxiety, lowering blood pressure, [and] helping regulate emotions.”

Angus is available for office hours by appointment, which can be scheduled at www.meg279.setmore.com.