Ellie begins her day with breakfast in her special bowl. She eats out of a bowl that is designed to help her slow down while eating.

Juliana Hursey, a psychology major, puts a harness on Ellie as they prepare for the car ride. “Ellie is anxious about collars and leashes because she was abused in the past,” says Juliana. “She is a lot more comfortable with the harness because it puts less pressure on her neck.”

Ellie waits for Juliana to give her a treat after putting on her harness. Positive reinforcement like treats and belly rubs help to ease Ellie’s anxiety with the harness.

Ellie jumps into Juliana’s car as they prepare for an adventure. Ellie likes car rides because Juliana takes her to fun places like the dog park, Petco, or Starbucks.

Ellie waits patiently while Juliana orders her coffee. “She sits in the seat like she’s a human,” says Juliana. “It’s the cutest thing!”

Clay Cady, the barista, hands a pup cup to Juliana. Pup cups are small cups of whipped cream that Starbucks gives to dogs as a treat.

Ellie licks the side of the cup. Ellie is eager to eat her pup cup, but she knows she has to wait until Juliana says that its okay.

Ellie finishes off the pup cup and makes a small mess. Juliana pulled into a parking space while Ellie ate the pup cup so that she wasn’t worried about the mess while driving.

Ellie watches while Juliana cleans whipped cream off the car’s center console. Ellie even offered some help by licking up the largest of the spills.

Juliana moves to the back seat to clean Ellie’s face. She gently wiped Ellie’s nose with a baby wipe until it was clean.

Ellie relaxes in the back seat while Juliana drives home. She had an exciting adventure and now she was ready to go home and take a nap!