Kae Savar and Samwise Bring Joy to UB Libraries

by KAITLYN LIU

Walking into the Libraries’ stress-relief events during finals week at UB, one can feel a sense of calm. Away from the anxiety-induced studying taking place just a few feet away in the library, these de-stress events—complete with games, crafts and therapy dogs—provide a space where one can breathe a little lighter. 

Relaxing music offers a backdrop to the soft click of dice in a round of Yahtzee or tokens falling into place in Connect Four. Friends grab snacks before gathering to make bracelets, complete puzzles or create fuse beads. 

Amidst all of this, a group of students sits in a circle to see the star of the show: Samwise the therapy dog. Donning a handsome orange tie while hopping from one student’s lap to another, this golden retriever and his handler, UB student Kae Savar, share a mission to bring joy to UB students through the Libraries.

Looking over the circle of adoring fans, Savar laughingly herds Samwise from student to student. “You have new friends to see!” they say as new students join the ever-widening circle. They pause to adjust Samwise’s bandana to proudly display the name “RocDog,” the Community Working Dog Group in WNY that certified him as a therapy dog.  

A Buffalo native, Savar is in the process of earning their master's degree in social work at UB and plans to apply for UB’s social work PhD program. As they see it, the connection between Samwise’s certification through RocDog and their career in social work is natural. 

In their research, Savar investigates isolation and the need to belong. 

“Especially as an adoptee, I’ve always been interested in how we can make those connections even in non-traditional ways,” they said. 

That sense of connection is evident throughout the Libraries. As a graduate researcher, Savar relies on UB Libraries to access scholarly literature while also building community through Samwise. To this day, they remain in awe of the Libraries' student services.  

“Sometimes I don’t have time in grad school to research tons of articles,” they said. “If I can ask a librarian for a title so I don’t have to manipulate the web to give me the PDF file, great! I’ll do that every time.” 

In turn, those spare moments give Savar even more time to meet new people with Samwise.

“If I have a dog who brings joy to other people, I want to make sure that I can utilize that as much as possible,” they said.

Any college student would agree finals week is a stressful time. Yet, therapy dogs can teach humans a thing or two about how to slow down and be present. 

For example, Samwise was the first dog that many UB students had ever met. 

“It was a two-way learning experience between me and people who may be scared to touch him or who come from cultures where having dogs is not common,” Savar said. 

But thankfully, Samwise’s snuggles are highly effective disarming tools. Like Savar’s research, connection and care are the purpose behind the UB Libraries stress-relief events. 

Bryan Sajecki, social sciences, student support, and instruction librarian at UB, says that the de-stress events are vital because they “humanize the library in a way.” 

Instead of just a space for scholarship, he says the library is “reframed into something completely different, demonstrating the versatility of the library as a fixture.” 

If the event's turnout of more than 400 students tells us anything, it is the power of a library that is welcoming and relatable. Savar notes the brilliance of combining dogs and libraries, highlighting the impact of the unexpected connections that inspire their own research at UB.

While the Libraries are known as a place for academic excellence, Savar, Samwise and Sajecki show how they are also a place where students can find themselves and feel at home. During one of the most stressful weeks of the semester, therapy dogs like Samwise offer more than a welcome distraction—they create moments of connection. Whether sitting in a circle of students, offering a quiet moment of comfort or greeting a new friend, Samwise reminds students to seek joy, rest and care for themselves. And at UB Libraries, students haven’t seen the last of those moments.