{"id":131783,"date":"2026-05-01T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=131783"},"modified":"2026-04-30T17:28:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T22:28:24","slug":"lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Lifting spirits&#8217;: UNMC welcomes therapy K9 Ares"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"panel body-content\"><div class=\"panel__container\">\n<p>If you spot Ares \u2013 an energetic, 16-month-old black and silver German shepherd \u2013 on campus, stop and say hi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ares is the newest member of the University of Nebraska Police and Public Safety Department and its first therapy K9.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K92043026-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"UNPPSD Officer Sean Sommer, a therapy K9 handler, walks Ares on the UNMC green space Friday April 24, 2026.\" class=\"wp-image-131769\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K92043026-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K92043026-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K92043026-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K92043026-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K92043026-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K92043026-900x600.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UNPPSD Officer Sean Sommer and the therapy K9 Ares will begin patrolling together on the UNMC Omaha campus beginning Friday, May 1.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Today (May 1), Ares will begin routine patrolling the UNMC campus with UNPPSD Officer Sean Sommer who, after 30 years of law enforcement experience, has turned his attention to enhancing peer-to-peer support with his first therapy work dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s the most loving German shepherd you\u2019ll ever meet,\u201d Officer Sommer said. \u201cHe\u2019s had basic and advanced obedience training, but he\u2019s still a puppy and gets a little excited in new environments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Law enforcement officers are increasingly turning to therapy K9s, Sommer said, to provide compassionate emotional support, reduce anxiety in high-stress environments and build bonds between law enforcement and the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In May, the duo will travel to Franklin County, Ohio, to complete Ares\u2019 law enforcement training certifications, which involves a weeklong, 40-hour training course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCompassion and service to the community come in many forms,\u201d said Charlotte Evans, chief of police and associate vice chancellor for public safety. &#8220;Today, we welcome a new kind of hero to our department \u2013 one with soft fur, gentle eyes, a wagging tail and a heart devoted to lifting spirits. Adding Ares to our team reflects our mission to show that protecting and serving isn\u2019t only about enforcing the law, but also about building trust, offering comfort and strengthening the bond between our officers and the community we proudly serve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On a sunny Friday morning, Ares\u2019 sat obediently by Officer Sommer\u2019s side, his ears perked as students strolled the Bill and Ruth Scott Student Plaza at UNMC. At times, he rolled in the grass and tugged playfully on his leash, reminding Sommer he\u2019s still a puppy-in-training. Minutes later, the two were surrounded by curious students as they walked through the Sorrell Center.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K91043026-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Therapy K9 Ares greets students.\" class=\"wp-image-131770\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K91043026-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K91043026-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K91043026-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K91043026-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K91043026-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K91043026-900x600.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Therapy K9 Ares greets students.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cTherapy K9s are dogs for the good guys,\u201d said Officer Sommer, acknowledging individuals are more apt to approach officers with therapy K9s. \u201cThey come up and say \u2018Hi\u2019 and \u2018Can I pet the dog?\u2019 They feel more comfortable approaching us then they would otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNMC\u2019s JoJo Fett, a physician assistant student in the UNMC College of Allied Health Professions, quickly befriended Ares while he was visiting the Sorrell Center. \u201cHe\u2019ll bring a lot of joy to campus,\u201d she said while scratching his back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI see Ares as a tool to put in my public safety toolbox,\u201d Officer Sommer said. \u201cWe\u2019ll go anywhere he can make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"\/secure-location.php\" style=\"display: none;\" title=\"hOPqvKCalZKDDGPgt di  xMgX h c\"><!-- hOPqvKCalZKDDGPgt di  xMgX h c --><\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The German shepherd, part of the University of Nebraska Police and Public Safety Department, will begin routine campus patrols as of today with his handler.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":131768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"39142,92363,57983,39496,30422,47782","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3405],"class_list":["post-131783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-public-safety","topic-unmc-community","topic-wellness","department-unmc-front-page","department-unmc-today-todays-headlines","author_override-karen-burbach-unmc-strategic-communications"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&#039;Lifting spirits&#039;: UNMC welcomes therapy K9 Ares<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The German shepherd, part of the University of Nebraska Police and Public Safety Department, will begin routine campus patrols as of today with his handler.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;Lifting spirits&#039;: UNMC welcomes therapy K9 Ares\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The German shepherd, part of the University of Nebraska Police and Public Safety Department, will begin routine campus patrols as of today with his handler.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-01T07:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K93043026.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeffrey Robb\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@unmc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@unmc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeffrey Robb\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jeffrey Robb\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6c55382c243ff55b6c4dee62262b6a5c\"},\"headline\":\"&#8216;Lifting spirits&#8217;: UNMC welcomes therapy K9 Ares\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-01T07:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":465,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/K93043026.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Public safety\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/\",\"name\":\"'Lifting spirits': UNMC welcomes therapy K9 Ares\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/K93043026.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-01T07:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"The German shepherd, part of the University of Nebraska Police and Public Safety Department, will begin routine campus patrols as of today with his handler.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/K93043026.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/K93043026.jpg\",\"width\":2160,\"height\":1440,\"caption\":\"UNPPSD Officer Sean Sommer is a Therapy K9 handler and he will be joined by Ares. The duo will begin patrolling together on the UNMC Omaha campus beginning May 1. They are photographed on the UNMC green space Friday April 24, 2026.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/01\\\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"&#8216;Lifting spirits&#8217;: UNMC welcomes therapy K9 Ares\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Newsroom\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"University of Nebraska Medical Center\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/08\\\/overview-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/08\\\/overview-1.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":153,\"caption\":\"University of Nebraska Medical Center\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/unmcedu\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/unmc\",\"https:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/iamunmc\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/UNMCEDU\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6c55382c243ff55b6c4dee62262b6a5c\",\"name\":\"Jeffrey Robb\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/author\\\/d09bf41544a3365a46c9077ebb5e35c3\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'Lifting spirits': UNMC welcomes therapy K9 Ares","description":"The German shepherd, part of the University of Nebraska Police and Public Safety Department, will begin routine campus patrols as of today with his handler.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"'Lifting spirits': UNMC welcomes therapy K9 Ares","og_description":"The German shepherd, part of the University of Nebraska Police and Public Safety Department, will begin routine campus patrols as of today with his handler.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/","og_site_name":"Newsroom","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu","article_published_time":"2026-05-01T07:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2160,"height":1440,"url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K93043026.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jeffrey Robb","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@unmc","twitter_site":"@unmc","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeffrey Robb","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/"},"author":{"name":"Jeffrey Robb","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6c55382c243ff55b6c4dee62262b6a5c"},"headline":"&#8216;Lifting spirits&#8217;: UNMC welcomes therapy K9 Ares","datePublished":"2026-05-01T07:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/"},"wordCount":465,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K93043026.jpg","keywords":["Public safety"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/","name":"'Lifting spirits': UNMC welcomes therapy K9 Ares","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K93043026.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-01T07:00:00+00:00","description":"The German shepherd, part of the University of Nebraska Police and Public Safety Department, will begin routine campus patrols as of today with his handler.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K93043026.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/K93043026.jpg","width":2160,"height":1440,"caption":"UNPPSD Officer Sean Sommer is a Therapy K9 handler and he will be joined by Ares. The duo will begin patrolling together on the UNMC Omaha campus beginning May 1. They are photographed on the UNMC green space Friday April 24, 2026."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/01\/lifting-spirits-unmc-welcomes-ares-the-therapy-work-dog\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"&#8216;Lifting spirits&#8217;: UNMC welcomes therapy K9 Ares"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/","name":"Newsroom","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization","name":"University of Nebraska Medical Center","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/overview-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/overview-1.png","width":500,"height":153,"caption":"University of Nebraska Medical Center"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu","https:\/\/x.com\/unmc","https:\/\/instagram.com\/iamunmc","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/UNMCEDU"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6c55382c243ff55b6c4dee62262b6a5c","name":"Jeffrey Robb","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/d09bf41544a3365a46c9077ebb5e35c3\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131783"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131788,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131783\/revisions\/131788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}