Meet LU’s Willard: This service-dog-in-training is having a birthday

We’re wishing a happy birthday to a dog that was a familiar face on campus during fall and winter terms.

Willard is a service-dog-in-training, and he has been a constant companion of Anna White ’22, who is working as a volunteer to train the dog for the nonprofit Custom Canines Service Dog Academy (CCSDA) of Madison. He lived with her on campus, attended classes, and accompanied her as she went about the business of being a Lawrence student.

Willard is now with Anna at her family’s home in Baraboo because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the move to distance learning. Anna, a biology major, assures us the training continues, just a bit different as she no longer has nearly 1,500 Lawrentians to share Willard with.

Willard, who turns 1 today (May 5), is being trained to most likely serve a military veteran dealing with PTSD.

Anna answered a few questions about life with Willard, just in time to share on his birthday.

On training the dog on campus: “College is a great place to train a service dog because they get a ton of exposure to different situations. He’s exposed to all types of people, including people on skateboards, bikes, or moving carts. He also goes through lots of active in-public training, such as going to the cafeteria with me, as well as training where he has to learn patience, such as sitting through class with me.”

On training at home: “Unfortunately, he can’t do any public training right now, so we are working on more direct-association behaviors, particularly interruption behaviors. These involve training him to recognize certain anxious habits and interrupting them with his body. For example, if I am shaking my leg excessively, he will come and rest his head on it, or if I lean over and pretend to cry, he will come hop onto my lap. He absolutely loves these exercises because he is the most-cuddly dog I’ve ever met.”

On how long the training will last: “Dogs typically train until they are about 2 years old, so I will have Willard for about another year. After a little final specialized training, he will then go on and get placed with his permanent handler.”

On how she will handle letting him go: “Yes, I will be extremely sad. However, I went into this knowing that everything I do is so that after me he can change someone’s life for the better, so with that knowledge I’ll be satisfied at the end of the day.”