Signature Workforce Engagement Experience
A more approachable way to open the door to workplace wellbeing
Pup Up EAP helps employers create connection, reduce stigma, and engage employees in a more relaxed, memorable, and human-centered way.
Reducing Stigma. Strengthening Teams.
What Pup Up EAP Is
A workplace engagement experience, not a traditional wellness program
Pup Up EAP is a dog-assisted workplace engagement experience designed to make conversations about stress, mental health, and support easier for employees while also helping employers understand the connection between employee wellbeing, culture, safety, and operational risk.
The concept is simple: rather than asking employees to seek out support on their own, Liminal Spaces brings an approachable, human-centered experience directly into the workplace. The presence of Abel and Basil creates a naturally relaxed atmosphere that encourages interaction, reduces pressure, and makes real conversations possible.
The goal is to create a space where people feel comfortable enough to pause, connect, and talk, if they want to. Not because they have to.
What this program is and is not
Pup Up EAP is not therapy. It does not replace counseling, treatment, or clinical mental health services.
It is a workplace engagement experience that helps normalize conversations about stress and mental health while increasing employee awareness of available support options.
It creates an environment where employees feel comfortable enough to pause, interact, and talk if they want to. The presence of dogs, informal conversation, and a relaxed setting removes the pressure and formality often associated with workplace wellness initiatives.
It also helps employers gain meaningful insight into the kinds of challenges their workforce may be experiencing without a survey, a formal assessment, or any obligation on the part of employees.
Meet the Team
Let the Dogs Do the Talking
Abel and Basil are the heart of the Pup Up EAP experience. Their presence helps reduce barriers, create connection, and make workplace support feel more approachable and real.
Abel is a 5-year-old full German Shepherd whose rare panda coat, remarkable size, and specialized ability to alert to and respond during medical emergencies make him a distinctive part of the Liminal Spaces program. His presence is grounding, calming, and reassuring, particularly for employees experiencing stress who may not yet feel ready to speak openly. With a trained, steady demeanor that helps create trust and psychological ease, Abel supports a more approachable workplace environment and helps open the door to connection, engagement, and wellbeing in a way that feels safe, professional, and nonintrusive.
Basil is an English Setter with a gentle spirit, a bright personality, and a remarkable ability to help others feel at ease. Through the organization she established, Anxious Paws, she has supported first responders, military veterans, and children healing from trauma with her calming presence and comforting support. Basil also helps foster safer, more connected workplaces by creating opportunities for engagement, easing stress, and helping people feel more comfortable reaching for support. Her natural ability to build trust, encourage connection, and create emotional safety makes her a meaningful part of the support experience and a true reflection of compassionate care in action.
The Core Problem
Most organizations already have support resources. Employees just do not use them.
The issue is not a lack of available support. The issue is access. Employees frequently avoid using employer-provided resources because of how those resources feel, not because they do not need them.
Unaddressed stress and mental health strain then move downstream into the organization, showing up as burnout, absenteeism, turnover, communication failures, and increased safety risk.
Pup Up EAP is designed to bridge this gap by creating a welcoming, low-pressure entry point into conversations about support, one that meets employees where they are, not where a formal program assumes them to be.
How Pup Up EAP changes the entry point
- Brings support to employees, not the other way around
- Uses the presence of dogs to reduce pressure and create comfort
- Creates natural, informal conversation without clinical structure
- Normalizes talking about stress without requiring disclosure
- Increases awareness of available resources organically
- Helps employers surface meaningful workforce themes
- Signals organizational care in a visible, memorable way
- Reduces the stigma that keeps employees silent
Organizational insight: In addition to supporting employees directly, the program helps employers gain a clearer sense of the kinds of challenges their workforce may be experiencing without formal surveying or assessment. This informal intelligence can be a valuable starting point for deeper organizational work.
The presence of dogs, informal conversation, and a relaxed setting removes the pressure often associated with workplace wellness initiatives and replaces it with something people actually engage with.
The Safety and Compliance Connection
This is not just a wellness initiative, it is a safety and operational tool
Mental health challenges do not stay separate from work. Stress, fatigue, burnout, trauma, and emotional strain can directly influence how people function in their jobs, particularly in safety-sensitive environments.
When employees are struggling mentally or emotionally, the effects show up in their capacity to perform safely, reliably, and consistently. This is not a soft concern. It is an operational and risk management reality.
By connecting mental health to workplace functioning and safety awareness, Pup Up EAP becomes a practical tool for employers who care about both people and performance, not simply a wellness checkbox.
Human factors that affect safety performance
Relevant to
- Safety leaders and operations teams
- Compliance-minded employers
- Organizations in safety-sensitive industries
- HR teams connecting wellbeing to risk reduction
- Organizations concerned about human performance and preventable incidents
Ideal Use Cases
Where Pup Up EAP fits naturally
Pup Up EAP integrates well into a wide range of existing employer events and initiatives, adding meaningful value without requiring a separate program build from scratch.
Employee Appreciation Events
Add a meaningful, memorable wellbeing component to existing appreciation events that employees will remember long after the day is over.
Safety Days and Safety Fairs
Connect human performance and mental health directly to safety culture at events already focused on workplace risk and accountability.
Mental Health Awareness Initiatives
Bring a tangible, visible presence to mental health awareness efforts, one that employees can actually engage with rather than passively observe.
Wellness Programming
Complement existing wellness benefits and resources with a human-centered engagement experience that increases awareness and utilization.
Culture-Building Efforts
Reinforce organizational values around care, support, and psychological safety in a way that is visible, experiential, and genuine.
Organizations Rebuilding Trust
For teams navigating low morale, leadership transitions, or workforce instability, Pup Up EAP creates a low-stakes, high-warmth moment that begins to rebuild connection.
Engagement Options
Choose the model that fits your organization
Whether you want to pilot something new, create recurring connection moments, or integrate Pup Up EAP into a comprehensive workforce strategy, there is a structure that works for your goals and your calendar.
Share the Word
Download the Pup Up EAP Flyer
Share this one-page overview with your team, post it in your break room, or include it in your next wellness communication. It covers the essentials of what Pup Up EAP is, how it works, and how to get it to your worksite.
Download Flyer Opens full size in a new tab, ready to save or printReady to bring Pup Up EAP to your workplace?
Tell us a bit about your organization and your upcoming events or initiatives, and we will follow up to discuss how Pup Up EAP can fit into your workforce engagement strategy.
For direct inquiries: trainings@liminalspacescoaching.com