Cash Money is a name that has brought so much joy to students on the Southern Miss campus, but the person behind it all is Melina Lowery. Since 2021, students grew familiar with seeing Cash’s friendly face daily and could be often seen petting, hugging, and socializing with the beloved canine, a campus favorite.
Sadly, Cash was diagnosed with cancer and passed away over the summer, leaving the USM community without a friendly, fury face to see on campus. But fortunately, a new face has shown up on campus. And her name is Sunday Skye.
Lowery is the face behind the two beloved campus animals. She is a trained therapy dog owner and has been serving the Southern Miss community since 2021. She said that her inspiration behind becoming a therapy dog owner started in the early 2000s after first seeing the Saint Jude Paws at an event, witnessing how much of a difference the animals made.
After her wheels started turning, Lowery went through the training process with Cash, eventually introducing him to the Southern Miss campus, receiving a warm welcome in the process.
“Students really were the ones who started inviting him to organizations and club meetings,” Lowery said.
The students are a major reason she loves volunteering as a therapy dog owner. When searching for a place to bring Cash, she said she saw an opportunity at Southern Miss.
“There was a need there because there were no therapy dogs on campus,” she said.
Cash was mostly known on campus for making people smile. With students running from class to class, working on assignments, and feeling the pressures of school, Lowery says that she believes that having therapy dogs on campus is beneficial.
“They can help students slow down and take a minute to rest and just relieve some of that stress,” she added.
Mental health is important to Lowery. And she says that she likes checking on the students and talking to them as they visit with the therapy dogs.
“To have somebody there to comfort you, even if it’s a dog, to hug and to bring a smile to your face can go a long way,” she said.
Lowery expressed that her favorite part of owning a campus therapy dog is the reactions of students. Not only did she bring Cash to campus, but also took him to places like Forrest General Hospital and nursing homes. After Cash’s death, Lowery said she felt like she had lost her job with her best friend.
But her volunteer work did not end there. She recently adopted a new canine and therapy dog named Sunday. The newest friendly, fury face has already impacted the USM community, bringing smiles to student faces on campus. And Lowery wouldn’t have it any other way, reaffirming her belief that working with therapy dogs is her calling and that she couldn’t see herself not doing it, especially with the support and reactions from the Southern Miss community.
“Even though we’ve given to you guys, you have really given to us so much,” she added.
