Service therapy dog Loki honored with 'Dogtorate' from the University of Maryland: 'It was a great day'

Graduation days are special for us humans but have you ever heard of a dog who graduated? A dog named Loki was recently honored for her training as a service therapy dog. A 5-year-old Rottweiler was awarded the honorary "Dogtorate of Medicine" by the University of Maryland Baltimore as a recognition for her work with the patients in the hospital, according to My Modern Met. The University of Maryland Baltimore gave "dogrees" to therapy and service dogs who have been part of the training program. Loki seemed super excited on her graduation day.

Loki's owner Dr. Caroline Benzel, on the other hand, was a student at the same medical school. Both Loki and Benzel attended the special ceremony where Loki was named an official "dogtor." It was a great day for both the dog and her owner after training hard together. The week I got her was the same week that I was accepted to medical school,” Benzel said. “So I started putting her through service-dog level training but I knew I was going to try to make her a therapy dog for the hospital.”

While Benzel studied at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Loki learned how to comfort patients in the hospital. According to CBS News, her calm demeanor helped her to work in trauma centers and handle machinery and made her a versatile therapy dog within the hospital. 

"She was able to work in the trauma centers because she could handle all the machines, she could come into basically any part of the hospital that needed a therapy dog to come in, and we would make sure that we're able to accommodate for everyone and everything," Benzel stated.

That's not all. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Benzel and Loki delivered "Hero Healing Kits" to frontline healthcare workers which included supplies like lotion, Vaseline, lip balm, instant coffee and tea.

Dr. Bruce Jarell, President of the University of Maryland Baltimore, appreciated the two for their work and said that their impact was so huge that the University of Maryland Medical Center expanded its therapy dog program.

Other than his "Dogree", Loki was also honored for her extraordinary service during the COVID pandemic. Kylo Red and Kiera, two service dogs were also awarded "Dogrees" for assisting their owners as they did their degrees at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and Maryland Carey Law. "I think just the idea of having a therapy dog come in especially when you're at a really trying time in your life truly makes such a difference for people," Benzel said.

She will be heading to West Virginia University for her residency and Loki will continue to work as a therapy dog at a local hospital. Benzel, however, also spoke about her plans to write a children's book called, "Dogtor Loki."

Recently, another service dog, Justin, received his honorary diploma from Seton Hall University along with his owner, Grace Mariani. The 6-year-old, a mix of yellow Lab and golden retriever, has reportedly attended all of Mariani's classes with her. Justin's owner received a B.S. in education, graduating magna cum laude.

In the video posted on Reddit, President Joseph Nyre tries giving the diploma first to Justin, but he pauses for a minute, looking at Mariani. After the president hands the degree to Mariani, he then gives it to Justin again and this time, the canine gently grabs it with his mouth. The crowd inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, erupted while the president also cheered for Justin.