W. Stuart Pope was the pastor of a small church in Georgia when he sought a career change. Dr. Pope received his initial nursing education at Gordon College in Barnesville, Georgia. He earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from Auburn University at Montgomery in 1988, then a master's in 2000 and a doctorate in 2009, both from Samford University. Prior to joining the faculty for the College of Nursing at Auburn University in 2009, Pope worked in psychiatric-mental health nursing for the State of Alabama in the Department of Mental Health. He also has experience in emergency and critical care nursing. Pope serves as the adviser for the Auburn Student Nurses Association and teaches psychiatric-mental health nursing. He can often be seen with any of his three four-legged friends. Aubie, a Shih Tzu, Miller, a golden lab, and Choa, a golden retriever-lab mix, are the stars of the school's Animal-Assisted Therapy program, run by Pope. In October, Pope was among the 50 alumni honored by Samford University's Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing with a Living Legacy Award. The focus of his doctoral research was Transitioning Registered Nurses into a Psychiatric-Mental Health Setting. Pope’s present research centers around animal-assisted therapy. Dr. Pope joined the AU faculty in 2009 and currently teaches psychiatric-mental health nursing and animal-assisted therapy. Prior to joining the faculty at AU, he worked for the State of Alabama in the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. He worked at Searcy Hospital in Mt. Vernon, Alabama and Greil Psychiatric Mental Hospital in Montgomery, Alabama. Dr. Pope has additional nursing experience in Critical Care, and Emergency nursing. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, International Society for Anthrozoology, Animals in Society, Alabama State Nurses Association, National Alliance on Mental Illness and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society.