The Companion Animal Club’s members hail from different majors and interests, but they are each dedicated not to only spreading interest about companion animals but also informing the student population about the contributions pets make to their owners’ well-being.

The club says these “companion” animals are far more than that. One of the organizations the Companion Animal Club is involved with is Hope Reins, a local group that rescues abused horses and helps children ages five to 17 who are dealing with life issues find comfort by interacting with the horses.

“I wanted to make a difference in the lives of animals as well as people,” Jonathan Kim, a sophomore in First Year College and vice president of the Companion Animal Club, said.

The club has a speaker every meeting; most are from non-profit organizations such as Wake County SPCA and Second Chance Animal Shelter. Usually a speaker will come once a semester from an exotic animal organization such as the Carolina Tiger Rescue. The speakers help educate students on ways to give back to the animal community through volunteer work. According to Kim, the goals of the organizations are to cherish these animals for the services they are providing; getting people involved helps to keep the organizations running.

“Animals could love a college student, a senior citizen or someone incarcerated in the same exact way,” Kim said. “There is no judgment, just love.”

Kimberly Ange, a professor in the Animal Science department, talked about her friend, Capt. Megan Standish and how she was helped by her companion animal.

While serving in Iraq as a military police officer in the Army, Standish was injured when her vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and then shot twice in the chest.

“She went from commanding 400 officers to being in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for over a year … having such horrible seizures that she couldn’t do anything for herself,” Ange said. “Her face had to be put back together again.”

Thanks to the help of her trusty sidekick and seizure alert dog, Ange said that Standish’s life “was given back to her.” The dog is trained to alert Standish 10 to 15 minutes before she is going to have a seizure so that she can medicate herself and control the seizure.

While Standish recovers, she is giving back by training dogs through her organization Triumphant Tails for people with post-traumatic stress disorder, injured soldiers, families with autistic children or anyone who needs the support of a companion animal.

“There are companion animals who are fun for us to play with and then there are companion animals that are really a life companion that help make a person’s life better,” Ange said.

Students can help these animals by providing time, shelter or even spare change to the Companion Animal Club or any of its associated organizations. According to Ange, staying with a college student is one of the best places a dog can be when training to be a seeing-eye dog or a service animal. The dogs cannot be afraid of loud noises, crowds, new people or changes in routine. A student volunteering to watch over a dog during its training to be a seeing-eye dog can help someone else later down the road.

One way that the Companion Animal Club hopes to educate students more on the importance of companion animals is through their upcoming event, the Puppy Kissing Booth. The event will take place Feb. 14 in the Brickyard from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For only one dollar, you can give back to organizations while getting the chance to play with puppies.

The Companion Animal Club also helps students find animals if they have run away or been lost. If you send a picture and information to CompanionAnimalClub@gmail.com, they will send the information to all of their contacts to help look for the animal.

“There is a reason that N.C. State puts on programs like Pet-A-Pooch,” Kim said. “There has been extensive research done that if people spend consistent time around animals, it is helpful for their health and stress levels. Animals bring a happiness in our lives that isn’t found in a lot of places.”