Mochii the puppy helps socialize McMaster students
Photo by Max Adams/Community Partnerships Assistant
Who’s a good boy?
On March 18, 2022, McMaster’s Student Wellness Centre hosted an event with Mochii the Shiba Inu puppy. The event took place in PGCLL 201 and over 40 students attended.
Mochii captured the hearts of students after several other recent visits to campus.
The Silhouette spoke to Mochii’s owner, Willis Grunwald, a second-year humanities student about Mochii and the positive reaction from students.
Willis originally wanted a bigger dog, but because he’s moving into an apartment, he settled for something smaller. He considered getting a yorkie, a dachshund, or a shiba inu. After searching for breeders, Willis met Mochii.
“[The breeder] took him out, and I was like, that’s my dog,” Willis stated after describing how he felt when he first saw Mochii.
Mochii got his name from Willis’ experience working at a hibachi restaurant. Mochi is a Japanese rice cake dessert, which is quite fitting for the Japanese dog breed.
Willis never anticipated Mochii’s visits to campus would elicit such excitement.
“I was just trying to socialize him,” said Willis.
Little did Willis know, Mochii was helping McMaster students too.
“Single handedly (pawdedly?) carrying the mental health of every mac student rn,” wrote user comedownmachiine on Reddit’s r/mcmaster.
Photos of Mochii have circulated on Mochii’s Instagram, on McMaster’s social media channels and on Reddit’s r/mcmaster,
In only a few days, @snoofin.mochii has amassed over 400 followers on Instagram and features some of Mochii’s cutest photos.
Mochii also made an appearance on McMaster’s Instagram, which generated over 6,100 likes.
“Mochii should be our mascot ,” commented Instagram user @_aaryaravi.
Mochii even received a professional photo shoot, and the results are adorable.
How is Willis doing with Mochii? Willis described how it feels to have a puppy as a student.
“I’ve been kept up at night pretty consistently. He wakes up at 7AM, so that’s been fantastic,” described Willis.
The question everyone’s waiting for?
The Silhouette asked Willis whether Mochii will continue to come to campus.
“I’m going to be bringing him to campus more regularly as his walk route,” said Willis.
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