Dogs are available to students who are feeling stressed or otherwise in need of creature comfort as part of a new pet therapy program at the University of Ottawa in Canada’s capital.
“There was a professor…who loved dogs and had a certified pet therapy dog who was volunteering her time in the senior homes and hospitals,” says Murray Sang, director of Student Academic Success Service (SASS) at the university. “She approached us (as we do a lot of counselling for students) with the idea of introducing pet therapy here. So we got it going. It was an interesting initiative and one that I think will help address the stress and anxiety needs of our students.”
Student can play with dogs and “de-stress”
SASS provides a venue once a week. It posts notices telling students where the dog and handler will be and inviting them to come and spend time with them. At the beginning 15 students would attend. Now between 40 and 45 do.
“Students can come out, relax, play with the dogs, de-stress, effectively,” says Sang. “Mental health is a big issue on campus. We’ve seen a tremendous rise in the number of students who are presenting with anxiety, stress, depression. I guess it’s a reflection of society but we’re seeing more and more of it at the campus. Universities across Canada have been grappling with ways to address that issue.”
Dogs “love the company”
The pet therapy seems to help and the dogs like it too. “The dogs love the company,” says Sang. “I mean most dogs love to be petted. They like the attention. They like the interaction. So they look forward to it…The handlers say the dogs know what’s going on and they like going to work.”
Handlers volunteer for the job so the service is free and Sang calls it a win-win situation.
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