A therapy dog donned his tux to accept a national award for his work at a university.
Boomer Woof Brown, and his handler Dave Brown, won the award for Security Innovation Initiative of Year, and wanted to dress up to celebrate even though the ceremony was cancelled due to the health crisis.
Boomer, a qualified rescue therapy dog, has been working with the security team at the University of East Anglia since 2019.
Congratulations to our Security team who won ‘Security Innovation – Initiative of the Year’ for campus therapy dog Boomer at the recent annual @AUCSO awards!
There was no ceremony but Boomer (and Dave in our Security team) asked if he could wear his tuxedo suit anyway. pic.twitter.com/RtFUSwDFFM
— UEA (@uniofeastanglia) June 10, 2020
The pair were recognised for offering emotional support to students and helping the security team de-escalate stressful situations.
Boomer even has his own campus ID card and email address that students and staff can contact to book sessions in a dedicated room.
Although the annual conference where Boomer should have accepted his award was cancelled, a makeshift ceremony took place with social distancing guidelines in place.
Dawn Daniels, access and security controller, said: “Boomer’s been a fantastic addition to the team. Using him as an opening for a conversation, I have seen an increase of willingness of students to approach me.
“This has then started a discussion which has led on to emotive topics such as their mental health and wellbeing, and allowed me to signpost them to the necessary support functions available.”
