Boyd and Bayley heat TU hearts

Every Monday, Dan Boyd makes the rounds of the LaRita Boren Campus Center together with his remedy canine, Bayley. Bayley is a star at Taylor University, and individuals are all the time lining up for the Bernese Mountain Dog. 

As a earlier motorsports photographer, Boyd had no concept he would someday be working with remedy canine.

Boyd graduated from Taylor in 1969. Both of his mother and father graduated from Taylor in 1934 and inspired him to attend Taylor after he spent two years at Port Huron Junior College.

Boyd spent three years at Taylor and deliberate to turn into a trainer at an elementary faculty in Jacksonville, Florida upon commencement. However, he was drafted into the army instantly after graduating.

Boyd enrolled within the Coast Guard, and through that point, he was launched to images. He fell in love with it, and when his time within the army was up, he enrolled at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York. At the time, it was one of many premier images faculties on this planet.

Going to highschool at RIT helped line Boyd up with a job working as a full-time motorsports photographer. From 1974 to 2013, Boyd labored for varied motorsports organizations.

In 2013, Boyd had a job lined as much as proceed doing images with NASCAR however felt God calling him in one other course. He declined the provide and began working with remedy canine.

Boyd has had two Bernese Mountain Dogs as remedy canine since beginning this system in 2017. Bennett was his first remedy canine, which he skilled as a pet. Unfortunately, Bennett died of most cancers in 2022, so Boyd needed to prepare Bayley who is popping seven this yr. Boyd is engaged on coaching one other remedy canine, a golden retriever named Barnabus.

“This guy (Bayley) loves people,” Boyd stated. “He loves kids. He’s a chick magnet.” 

Boyd has been coming to Taylor together with his remedy canine for about six years now. Students love seeing Bayley and giving him hugs. 

Boyd didn’t depart images altogether whereas working together with his remedy canine. He labored part-time photographing the Indianapolis 500 from 2013 to 2024. He additionally makes use of images within the remedy canine program to take footage of Bayley with sufferers and college students. He even prints pictures of Bayley handy to folks to allow them to keep in mind their interactions.

Boyd tries to get an image of Bayley with each scholar they meet. There have been so many pictures that he has an album full of images of scholars with Bayley within the Counseling Center.

Kara Patrick, assistant director of the counseling heart, stated remedy canine, particularly Bayley, have a huge impact on people’ psychological well being.

“I think there is a sense of comfort that can be provided when they know that they’re going to see him,” Patrick stated. “Especially when we see therapy dogs coming into places, like the Stu or where people are kind of congregating, it can help foster conversation and give it a talking piece for other people.”

Boyd stated the occasions Bayley impacts college students most are the primary week of faculty with homesick children and nearer to finals week due to college students’ stress. But anytime that he and Bayley come to Taylor, they contact the hearts of about each scholar they meet.

One of these college students, sophomore Riley Yajko, shared concerning the impression that Bayley has had on her.

“It gives me a brain break, because normally I’m locked in whenever Bayley comes by,” Yajko stated. “So it just gives me a break to relax and recover from all of the work that I’m doing.
But also just being able to squeeze his head and pet him and give him treats, just helps me relax from all of everything else that’s going on throughout the week and the day.”

Along with Taylor, Boyd took Bennett, and later Bayley, to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie and the Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital to work together with sufferers.

“We had one particular incident where there was a girl there who didn’t respond, just laid there, didn’t move and everything,” Boyd stated. “And the teachers and the caretakers in there were kind of watching, and the kids were doing well, and Bennett went over to this girl and took his nose and nudged her, and she responded, and they had never seen that.”

Boyd’s web site, danrincphoto.com, options hundreds of pictures he has taken from his time in motorsports thus far, together with pictures of Bayley with sufferers and college students. 

Boyd’s life has come full circle — from his time at Taylor to serving within the army, then pursuing motorsports images and now working with remedy canine. He believes God orchestrated every of those experiences, making ready him for his present position of bringing pleasure to folks via his remedy canine.