By Samantha Cohen
The University of Maryland’s four-legged friends, dressed in matching bandanas, pranced across McKeldin Mall Wednesday evening for the second annual Teddy’s Pup Parade.
Teddy, known around campus and on social media as ‘Teddy the Terp,’ is the university’s comfort dog. According to UMPD’s Public Information Officer, Lt. Rosanne Hoaas, Teddy’s job is to offer love and support to students, faculty, staff and visitors. Students can also request Teddy to visit their club or floor meetings.
“No matter where I take him, he’s built a crowd,” Cpl. Melissa Fischer said. “He has so many followers, he has so many friends here on campus that love him and support him. I love my job.”
Fischer said throughout her 12-year career, taking care of Teddy for the past three years has been the best part. She described Teddy as a playful, goofy and normal puppy who can revert to a comfort dog when Fischer’s kids need emotional support.
After sustaining an injury, Teddy’s workload was reduced and he could not lead the Pup Parade. Instead, K-9 Linzer from the Hyattsville Police Department stepped up to lead the furry friends of College Park along the mall.
“His presence is deeply missed, but he is getting better, and I have no doubt you guys will see him out and about in the next coming weeks,” Hoaas said. “He just needs to rest, which we can all agree on. We all need rest.”
Despite Teddy’s absence, around 20 dogs participated and a large crowd of students lined the mall. Hoaas said the event was even more successful than the great turnout from last year’s inaugural event.
“It’s always important, as a police department, to create events where you meet the community, where they’re at,” Hoaas said.
Kimberly Matos, a sophomore general biology major, came out to the parade to pet the dogs, which, she said, allowed her to relax during exam season.
“I thought it was really cool how the community, and the police department too, they came around. They built a little community of dogs,” Matos said.
Otto, a rescued and patient-natured 1-year-old German Shepherd and Old English Sheepdog mix, was popular among dog lovers at the parade.
Otto’s owner, Kalia Patricio, works at Adele H. Stamp Student Union as the associate director of administrative operations. She brought Otto in hopes of training him to be a comfort dog like Teddy.
“These events are important because they just bring so much joy. Like any time these days where we can bring joy to the community in which we live and work, I think it’s totally worth it,” Patricio said.
Featured image by Samantha Cohen, October 16, 2024.