On Mental Health Awareness Day I got to pet and take pictures with therapy dogs. As a dog person, this was my dream and I think students’ reaction was extremely positive overall.

According to the Marywood website, “Compassionate Canine” therapy dogs came to visit Marywood Thursday November 16 and will return December 11 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. The therapy dogs were brought back to kick off finals week. I think the therapy dogs should come here more frequently so more students can experience the joy the therapy dogs bring to our campus.

According to the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Today website article, “Just seeing a lot of people out here happy and not worrying about their obligations for a while is nice to see.” A student featured on the Penn Today site also said he liked this program because it reminded him of the feeling he has around his dog.

Ashlee Centamore, a Marywood student said, “They are absolutely adorable and help a lot with stress.” Bailey Cinamella, another student, exclaimed, “=I think it’s a great idea!” She also said, “I’m sure you’d know more than I but there’s so much research to prove it would improve mental health on campus a lot for those who like animals plus it could be great for midterms,finals, those stressful times and super helpful as an outlet for people who need it.”

However, these dogs have more benefits than being adorable. Today@Wayne, a Wayne State University news site reports a student there said, “It was always really nice to spend time with the therapy dog before big exams. I felt like it gave me more time to relax before the stressful test.”

These stories from other campuses show some positive results of bringing therapy dogs to campus include reducing stress, providing a general good feeling and keeping students from feeling so homesick while thinking about their pet dog. So how often should we bring them here?

I think having them on campus for midterms, Mental Health Awareness Day and finals week would be a good start.

The dogs should either be here for the entire week of midterms and finals, or have an extended period of time during their visiting days. I’m grateful Marywood is bringing the Therapy Dogs back, but expanding their schedule will help more students see the dogs and benefit from them.

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