A 5th birthday party was held for Cedar, the wellness dog with Oregon State’s Department of Public Safety, on Oct. 17.
Cedar turned 5 on Oct. 10 and has worked with DPS since he was around 1 ½ years old. DPS met Cedar through Working Dogs Oregon, an organization that helps pair working canines with different public safety offices across the state.
When on duty, Cedar can be found walking campus with an orange vest; however at his birthday party Cedar was sporting a yellow bandanna that read “Birthday boy.”
DPS wanted to host this event as a way for students and faculty to learn more about DPS and Cedar.
Olivia, an OSU freshman, heard about the party a few days prior. Once she finished her studying, she decided to stop by in hopes of good vibes and ending her week strong after her midterms.
“I come to visit him in the ID center on Tuesdays,” Olivia said. “I miss my cats at home so having him on campus is really great.”
At the party, there were many activities for people to participate in. There was a photo booth with accessories, Mario Kart, corn hole, a ping pong table, a large floor piano and a 9-hole mini golf set up.
At a table in the front of the room, there were two note cards set out for people to sign as a way to wish Cedar a happy birthday.
As attendees walked into the event they were handed a raffle ticket. The raffle prizes included one free entree at Quodba, Beaver Merchandise, a special Cedar pin as well as inflatable guitars. Halfway through the event, raffle tickets were pulled and four attendees got their choice of prize.
Near the end of the event, all those in attendance sang “Happy Birthday” to Cedar as he enjoyed a pup cup.
Over the past year Cedar’s role at DPS has increased more and more. “When I joined the department I started taking him out with me,” explained Patrick Sloma, public safety officer and Cedar’s Handler.
In the beginning Cedar was with Sloma for one to two hours a day and by last fall he was alongside Sloma all day long. In the spring, Sloma became Cedar’s official full time handler.
“He has a unique ability, I have found, that if someone is actually suffering from serious trauma or stress he can kinda read that,” Sloma said. “He can sense that and go up to them, give some extra love.”
Cedar as a puppy first trained to be a guide dog. However, it was found that Cedar is too calm for that job. Working Dogs Oregon then retrained Cedar to become a therapy dog, thus bringing Cedar to where he is today.
“Some days I feel like he’s giving me therapy and some days I’m giving him therapy,” shared Sloma.
Cedar can be found every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Memorial Union Identification Center for his weekly office hours. To set up a one-on-one appointment, head to the DPS website and click the dog icon at the bottom of the screen.
