{"id":8822,"date":"2022-10-24T18:17:49","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T18:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/wordpress\/lavie\/?p=8822"},"modified":"2022-10-24T18:17:49","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T18:17:49","slug":"praise-for-pet-the-pooch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/2022\/10\/24\/praise-for-pet-the-pooch\/","title":{"rendered":"Praise for Pet the Pooch"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Meredith Haas \u201824, editor <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in the area and later going on to raise her children in Annville, Kathy Wingert is no stranger to the LVC campus. Yet, it\u2019s who she brings on campus that gets students to smile. She\u2019s the leash holder to her family\u2019s golden retrievers, Bailey and Henry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2010, when Wingert\u2019s son, who was responsible for the bulk of Bailey\u2019s exercise, left for college, it became clear that Bailey needed an alternative form of exercise. The solution: walking him on LVC\u2019s campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t until 2011 that we were walking here consistently,\u201d Wingert said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bailey took to these evening walks rather quickly, and soon enough, he guided his leash holder to where he wanted to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy goal was just to tire him out,\u201d Wingert said. \u201cHe knew he didn\u2019t want to go to the far-out field to run. He wanted to stay right where the people were.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometime in 2014, a name was jokingly attached to what Wingert and Bailey did together every night \u2013 Pet the Pooch. Together for years to come, the pair continued to walk the campus, greeting all of Bailey\u2019s friends and continuing to make more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July of 2020, Bailey passed away, leaving a huge hole in the hearts of not only his family, but also leaving holes in the hearts of the LVC community. Despite such a tragic loss, the Wingerts insisted the tradition of Pet the Pooch must continue and the emptiness in the household must be filled, prompting them to begin the search for another golden retriever that could only attempt to fill Bailey\u2019s pawprints.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021 after much research, she made the trek to Georgia to pick up the newest member of their family. Cue the introduction of Henry, a first cousin of Bailey.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When getting him home, it was clear that Henry lacked the boisterous personality that Bailey boasted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHenry was extremely timid,\u201d Wingert said. \u201cI was devastated. We really had to work with him to get over his anxiety. I like to say that he is shy by nature, but people-loving by nurture.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wingert wasted no time getting Henry in the swing of things, bringing him to campus on day three of his time in PA. Ever since then, Henry has grown more and more accustomed to time on campus. They have never looked back.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt may sound silly, but this is his favorite place,\u201d Wingert said. \u201cThese are his favorite people.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked if she ever expected her dogs to become such household names on campus, the answer was a definitive no. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt still makes me so embarrassed,\u201d Wingert said. \u201cIt just tickles me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wingert does, however, cite how special LVC is and how this would not be possible without such a unique campus community.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou guys are very authentic,\u201d Wingert said. \u201cThere\u2019s just a spirit of gratitude. It\u2019s what keeps us coming back.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, both Bailey and Henry have served as a bridge between an empty-nester and a group of college students who could use a ray of sunshine in their lives. What started as a simple walk has become so much more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be able to share the blessing of a dog with those who are homesick, missing their dog, going through hard things, the ability to show the simple sweetness of a dog is just what I want to share,\u201d Wingert said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few words from an LVC student once said to Wingert summarize the impact of Pet the Pooch best: to her, it is a simple thing; to college students, it is a big thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To follow Henry\u2019s journey, look for him making his evening stroll on campus between 5-6:30 p.m. or follow him on Instagram @petthepoochlvc. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meredith Haas \u201824, editor  Growing up in the area and later going on to raise her children in Annville, Kathy Wingert is no stranger to the LVC campus. Yet, it\u2019s who she brings on […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8822","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-campus-news","8":"category-features"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}