Students at the
The Take A Paws With A Therapy Dog event allowed students to sign up for 15 minute sessions hanging out with various canines in Peter Clark Hall.
The event was a joint venture between the Central Student Association, the
Meghan Wing Academic and university affairs commissioner for the CSA, said she hopes to make Take A Paws a monthly event.
"The whole point is for them to come, smile with their friends and just de-stress a little bit before they go back to their studies," Wing said.
A similar event last April during exams drew over 640 students, said Peggy Pritchard, the coordinator of college and university programs with St. John Ambulance.
"There's some scientific evidence of the physiological changes that occur when people have a chance to cuddle with dogs. Things like decreased heart rate, decreased blood pressure and just an overall sense of well-being," said Pritchard.
She said a lot of students find the overall experience of moving away from home for the first time stressful in itself, and often are missing the role their own pets played in their lives back home.
The dogs are all people's pets that have passed a strict assessment program.
There were a half dozen dogs at Mondays event, but 26 were brought in last April from around the region to meet the demand.
All the dogs have regular placements, such as Hospice Wellington, hospitals or long-term care facilities.
First year students Aleksa Nitsas and Sierra Schaus thought it was a great break from their daily routine.
"It's really nice. It's so calming," said Aleksa, "especially with mid-terms coming up."
"I want to be a vet, so obviously I love animals" said Schaus. "It's proven that petting animals can release calming hormones in your body and bring down stress."
Kim Almond-Pike runs the therapy dog program for St. John Ambulance and said it's great to see the calming effect the animals have on students.
"I think it's absolutely wonderful to be able to witness that unconditional love that the dogs provide for the students," Almond-Pike said.
"Many of the students are quite chronically stressed during the semester and I see this as an opportunity for them to de-stress and just take a breather. It's a therapeutic experience for them.
"For just a few minutes they can forget about everything. It's like a little escape from all the demands on them," Almond-Pike said.
