This fall, Associate Athletic Trainer Paul Diorio introduced the latest addition to Arcadia’s Sport Performance staff, Ranger. With a year and a half of training under his collar, Ranger is more than prepared to help student-athletes take care of their mental health. We talked to Diorio and Ranger about Ranger’s training and what a day in the life of a therapy dog looks like. 

This Q&A has been slightly edited for clarity and length.

Q: How did Ranger become a therapy dog?

Diorio: In my first year here back in 2021 or 2022, we started seeing a lot of mental health concerns with our student-athletes; Counseling Services across campus were just always in high demand. So, we were thinking, “What’s something small we could do to help our student-athletes every single day?” We got some approvals and green lights, started some training, and here we are.

Ranger: I love my job! On top of an endless supply of treats, pets, and scratches, I get to chase balls with humans who chase balls. It’s pawsome! I’m so grateful to Paul for introducing me to all my new friends. I’m mutts about them!

Q: What was the training process like?

Diorio: Shortly after I got him, he was pretty rambunctious and wild. So, I knew I needed to start with general obedience training. We worked with a group over in New Jersey called Absolute Control Dog Training, which helped a lot. Then, we worked with Betsy Feaster from Dog Training Elite in Philadelphia, who–over the course of a year–came to campus a couple of times, came to my house a couple of times, we went out in public a couple of times, all for about an hour or so, followed by homework. Once we did all that, Ranger passed the American Kennel Club Good Citizen Test and Therapy Dog Certification testing to become a therapy dog.

Ranger: There were a lot of long nights of studying, and at the start, I thought this whole thing was a little far-fetched. But with the help of peanut butter… oh, and Paul… I finally got this sweet therapy dog jacket. It really brings out my eyes.

Q: What are the benefits of having a therapy dog as part of the athletic training staff?

Diorio: We’re always here for our student-athletes, offering classroom advice, life advice, anything like that, but sometimes advice isn’t what you need, and you just need a cuddle with a dog. Even some students who are maybe just feeling a little bit homesick and miss their dog at home can just come on in and hang out with Ranger as long as they need. He’s a little shy sometimes, but he loves all the scratches and hugs. There’s a lot of research out there that talks about animal therapy and its benefits for mental health. Granted, it’s not a cure-all, but it is a little serotonin boost to help people carry on. 

We’ve had some tough conversations with student-athletes, whether it’s about season-ending injuries, long-term injuries, return-to-play progressions, missing home, missing family, or any mental health struggles that they just need to talk to somebody about. We’ll bring Ranger into those meetings, and they’ll just be petting him, hugging him while they’re talking. I think it provides a distraction to ease the tension of having a hard conversation. As athletic trainers, we’re here to help student-athletes and get them the resources they need to take care of their mental health, including gladly walking them over side by side and sitting with them as long as they need.

Ranger: There’s nothing I love more than bringing smiles to my pals’ faces when they’re having a ruff time. You won’t find me sleeping on the job… unless you do, in which case, don’t snitch.

Q: What’s it like being Arcadia’s newest celebrities?

Diorio: I mean, he’s clearly thrilled, asleep on the floor right now. It’s been cool though, I’ll walk him into work every day and everyone will be like, “Oh, Ranger, what’s up? Oh, hey Paul.” So, that’s pretty funny. I don’t mind it at all. He loves it. He gets a little overwhelmed sometimes with everybody coming into his business, and he will hide under our desk in the athletic training room, take a nap for a little bit. But it’s a good time. The student-athletes like it. After a year of training with him, seeing the payoff has been really, really cool.

Ranger: I’m definitely not asleep. I’m just showing the pup-arrazi my good side. I’m paws-itively irresistible, I know. We’re trying to get on the cover of Vanity Fur, remember? Puppy steps!