{"id":107196,"date":"2026-03-04T20:13:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T20:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=107196"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:27:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T14:27:23","slug":"meet-winnie-the-uri-counseling-centers-new-facility-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2026\/03\/meet-winnie-the-uri-counseling-centers-new-facility-dog\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Winnie: The 溏心vlog免费B站 Counseling Center\u2019s new facility dog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I.\u2013March 4, 2026\u2013Whether she\u2019s resting her head on someone\u2019s lap or simply cozying up on the couch, the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s new facility dog, Winsome, a.k.a. \u201cWinnie,\u201d provides students with much-needed therapeutic, emotional, and physical support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winnie, a 2-year-old Goldador (or a Golden Retriever\/Labrador cross) from the Oregon-based non-profit Dogs for Better Lives, arrived in Kingston shortly after the new year to begin her new role with the 溏心vlog免费B站 Counseling Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Winnie greets students at a recent \u201cWellness with Winnie\u201d event at the Carothers Library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Facility dogs are highly trained canines that usually work alongside a professional handler in hospitals, schools, advocacy centers, and even courthouses to help reduce anxiety and provide emotional support. They can help encourage engagement by integrating skills into therapies or lesson plans, inspire collaboration and build confidence. Unlike therapy dogs, facility dogs are bred for specific, predetermined physical and behavioral traits and are task-trained to assist with specific goals in addition to providing emotional support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

溏心vlog免费B站 clinical counselor and care manager Danielle Madden, LICSW, first applied to the Dogs For Better Lives\u2019 facility dog program in November of 2024. She completed two written applications, a video tour of her office space on campus and her home, as well as a two-hour interview before the Counseling Center was added to the organization\u2019s wait list. Once approved, Winnie was flown from Oregon to live with Madden, who will serve as her handler, before she made her 溏心vlog免费B站 debut in January.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Video Short: \nLearn more about Winnie<\/h2>

Learn more about Winnie and her work as a facility dog at the 溏心vlog免费B站 Counseling Center through this video short.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

WATCH<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s definitely a welcome addition to our team,\u201d Madden said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winnie spends her days in Madden\u2019s office in Roosevelt Hall. If one of Madden\u2019s students visiting the center for counseling services feels anxious or needs support, Winnie utilizes her bond-based training, by providing something as simple as cuddling or more advanced techniques such as deep pressure therapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already a budding star on campus, Winnie stopped by the Academic Summit at the Memorial Union earlier this semester and was met with rave reviews. Winnie will be a big part of Madden\u2019s work this semester, including at Madden\u2019s Stress G.P.S. wellness group. She will also take part in a reoccurring \u201cWellness with Winnie\u201d series at the Carothers Library where she will spend an hour in the lobby interacting with students on March 30, April 13, and April 30 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Madden also plans to collaborate with 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Psychological Consultation Center<\/a>, which houses two therapy dogs, Basil and Betty, for additional visits. Organizations, departments, and colleges can request a classroom or event visit from Winnie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to providing support for students Winnie also serves as a great way help promote the Counseling Center\u2019s services. This past fall, the center earned accreditation<\/a> from the International Accreditation of Counseling Services, a leader for benchmarking professional counseling services on college and university campuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s a lot of research around animal assisted interventions and the benefits that they can have on a college campus,\u201d Madden said. \u201cWe saw the Psychological Consultation Center was having a great success with their program with Basil and Betty, so I connected with [department director] Lindsay Anderson to see what that experience has been like for her. She said that she gets more requests for interaction than she can accommodate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that a lot of students feel a sense of calmness when they’re able to interact with a dog on campus. Some of them miss their dogs at home. With the stress that students deal with daily, there\u2019s a benefit to having a program like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winnie was born through Guide Dogs for the Blind, the largest guide dog school in North America, but she was gear-sensitive, meaning she struggled with harnesses and vests, so the organization reassigned her as a career change dog, which led her to Dogs For Better Lives. She\u2019s the perfect fit for the Counseling Center, which provides individual and group counseling, care management and crisis support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Madden encourages anyone who sees Winnie on campus to stop and say hello. Her addition to the counseling team provides a calming presence and serves as an ice breaker to raise awareness about the services available to students who need assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe can serve as a bridge for students who might not be comfortable enough to come and talk to us, but they’re comfortable enough to come and ask, \u2018Can I pet your dog?\u2019\u201d Madden said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt can be tough to approach a Counseling Center table at an event, but if someone is petting Winnie I can say, \u2018Hey, just so you know, we have some drop-in times. You can come in and see her again and maybe we can talk a little bit.\u2019 It helps make students feel more comfortable to have that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 溏心vlog免费B站 Counseling Center is located on the second floor of Roosevelt Hall. Visit: uri.edu\/counseling<\/a> for more information on the programs and services available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Parente, director of communications and marketing in the 溏心vlog免费B站 Division of Student Affairs, wrote this news release.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I.\u2013March 4, 2026\u2013Whether she\u2019s resting her head on someone\u2019s lap or simply cozying up on the couch, the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s new facility dog, Winsome, a.k.a. \u201cWinnie,\u201d provides students with much-needed therapeutic, emotional, and physical support. Winnie, a 2-year-old Goldador (or a Golden Retriever\/Labrador cross) from the Oregon-based non-profit Dogs for Better Lives, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":107197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1903,1902],"class_list":["post-107196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-health-and-wellness","tag-student-engagement"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107196"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107273,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107196\/revisions\/107273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}