Capstone Project Highlight Series: Jamie Neff ’21

Each year, a number of junior and senior class members choose to participate in the MFS Capstone Program. Designed to challenge students who wish to pursue advanced study in a particular field, the program asks participants to produce scholarly work by engaging in independent research and/or creative development under the guidance of an MFS faculty member. This series highlights recently completed projects of the 18 senior students in the program. 

As a dog lover and owner, Jamie Neff ’21 knew that dogs have a great effect on the mental and physical health of the people around them. She was interested in knowing more about the science behind the health benefits of dogs and hoped to get involved with helping others using the human-animal bond. 

While her capstone plan had to change slightly due to COVID-19 in-person restrictions, Jamie was able to conduct her research and volunteer virtually. She began by exploring the differences between the three types of “working dogs” – service dogs, therapy dogs, and emotional support dogs. All three types must have a kind temperament, be well-trained, be obedient and attentive, and remain calm around strangers, but there are varying degrees of certification and training that distinguish each working dog: 

• A service dog is defined under the American with Disabilities Act as “a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability” and must complete specific disability-related training. Unlike many dogs, they are not viewed as pets but as guide dogs, medical alert dogs, psychiatric service dogs, etc. 
• Therapy dogs are meant to help reduce stress, provide companionship, help people suffering from (PTSD) share affection, and more. They take therapy dog classes and must be registered with a national therapy dog organization.
• Emotional Support Dogs provide therapeutic companionship and benefits for people with psychological challenges. They are most commonly pets and while they need to be obedient, calm, and deemed necessary by a doctor for their owner’s emotional well-being, there is no formal training required nor need to perform specific tasks.

Jamie then put the knowledge she’d gained into action. Working with People Animal Love (PAL) – a nonprofit organization whose mission is to use the human-animal bond to comfort the lonely, ease the pain of the sick, and enrich the world of children – she began to help children increase their proficiency in reading by using therapy dogs as their audience to make it less scary and stressful. When speaking about the experience, Jamie noted “We [referring to Jamie and her dog Zoe] saw first hand how children became more confident as the weeks passed and started to enjoy reading more. We even saw some children begin to be able to read difficult words and increase their reading speed… Overall, working with PAL was an amazing experience that I hope to continue.” Read more about the many benefits of dogs on her capstone page here.