Since the fall of 2014, a dog named Flynn has been a fixture on NAIT’s campus.
“I’ve had students tell me they’ve come to NAIT because Flynn is here,” said Linda Shaw, a student counsellor at NAIT who also happens to be Flynn’s owner.
“I’ve had students say that they remained at NAIT and succeeded in a program because of the interactions they were able to have with Flynn and myself.”
The Australian labradoodle is the school’s wellness dog. For years, he and Shaw have spent time roaming the halls, greeting staff and students.
“He’s like a Wal-Mart greeter — I joke that he has to say hello to everybody in the area,” Shaw said. “He would do his thing and I would just tell them why I was there.”
Flynn is an important part of NAIT’s counselling centre where people have been able to drop in to see him too.
“I did not expect it to go this long — 10 years,” Shaw said.
“He’s done so much in 10 years.”
Now 12 years old, Shaw said it’s time for Flynn to take a break.
“His vision is failing a little bit, and when I thought about it, I thought it would be important to give the students a soft transition for not seeing Flynn very often,” she explained.
He officially retired March 19, and hundreds came to celebrate him.
For now, Shaw said she will still bring him to work.
“I think he would desperately miss being able to meet and greet a little bit, so we do some hallway walks — unofficially,” she said.