Alyssa Sinclair, Garrett DeLong, Saint, Dr. J, Megan King, Tiffany Smith, Brandy Smith
Five UMPI students presented their work, “The Secret Life of a Service Dog,” during University Day on April 11. The group focused their project on Saint, a black Labrador, who is a service dog for Dr. Jacqui Lowman. Each group member picked a form of social media to share news on Saint’s daily adventures as a service dog. The goal was to inform and educate the public on what a service dog is and spread positivity through service dogs such as Saint. Group members were Brandy Smith, Garrett DeLong, Alyssa Sinclair, Megan King and Tiffany Smith.
The students wanted to inform the public on the importance and beauty of service dogs. There are many types of service dogs. Saint is a mobility assistance dog, while there are also many other kinds. The group members also learned how to successfully use their social media accounts in a professional way for a workplace.
Brandy Smith presented her work on Saint first as she worked on the BEYOND LIMITS website. BEYOND LIMITS was the journey of Dr. J. as she, Saint and others hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2017. Smith used the site to spread news and update the public on Dr. J and Saint’s adventures as they made their journey. “Saint is a huge part of BEYOND LIMITS. She is a part of everything BEYOND LIMITS does because Dr. J is a part of everything it does,” Smith said.
Garrett DeLong used Facebook as his medium. DeLong spent time familiarizing himself with the Facebook page, learning everything about how to run a professional profile. He spent time researching and developing strategies on when and how to post information on Saint.
Alyssa Sinclair worked on Instagram for her project. She worked on posting good content and quality pictures to draw in followers. Sinclair used hashtags to create positive attention to the page.
Evelyn Racine, who could not be there, picked Twitter to share Saint’s Adventures. Twitter gave Racine a chance to not just post pictures, but to tweet. Her tweets have given the followers a chance to retweet the tweets as well. Twitter is a useful and unique form of social media that the other media sites did not offer.
Megan King chose Pinterest as her site. She realized Pinterest did not have much content on service dogs, so she made a goal to spread positive talk on the site about service dogs and all they do. “Service dogs are not pets. They are considered medical equipment and they are working all the time. Think of them as really dedicated nurses,” King said. She also learned how to make boards and generate pins.
Tiffany Smith used YouTube as her project because she already had a love and passion for videography. The purpose of her project was to create a video that would capture the voice of Saint and her everyday adventures. At the end of the presentation, Smith shared her 10-minute video with the audience.
“I personally believe that this is an important thing to share with people, not only because there are many misconceptions about service dogs, but also because the work and message of BEYOND LIMITS is important,” King said. “It is not just about Saint, although she is a huge part of it. Saint is an amazing animal. Her dedication to her job and personality in general are nothing short of amazing.”
