Campus News

Therapy dogs help relieve exam stress

Beshwar Mahavevan, Hugging the dog; Garya Rajkumar, in beige coat, to the left.

Beshwar Mahavevan hugs one of the therapy dogs at Lockwood Library. Photo: Douglas Levere

By SARA R. SALDI

Published December 11, 2014 This content is archived.

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“There’s really nothing better than petting a fluffy dog when you’re stressed out. ”
UB student

Who doesn’t love a friendly, furry, four-legged friend?

Therapy dogs this week came to the rescue of UB students dealing with the stress of final exams.

More than 20 therapy dog teams visited Lockwood Library and the Health Sciences Library (HSL) during “Stress Relief Days” held Dec. 8-10.

While the dogs were the stars of the popular stress-relief program sponsored by the UB Libraries, students also were able to grab a cup of coffee or tea, a bottle of water or snacks ranging from fruit to Fritos. Libraries staff also organized a variety of stress-reducing activities, including 10-minute chair massage and reflexology sessions, yoga, drawing, knitting, jigsaw puzzles and Legos.

But, of course, the dogs were the main attraction. The program over the years has hosted a number of breeds, including Bernese mountain dogs, Great Danes, golden retrievers, West Highland terriers (westies), cavalier King Charles spaniels, goldendoodles, English labradors, rottweilers, dobermans, pugs (Angie, who has wheels to help her weak rear end, is a huge hit), Belgian tervurens, bull terrier mixes, Aussie/GSD/corgi mix, boxers, beagles and beagle mixes.

Regardless of the breed, all were ready to receive a pat on the head, a chuck under the chin or a belly rub from a UB student.

Kathleen Quinlivan, communications officer for the UB Libraries, says she especially enjoys seeing the students’ faces light up when they first meet the dogs.

“Their exam stress seems to instantly melt away,” she says.

Quinlivan says students love this event and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The most common comments we receive are ‘Thank you very much’ or ‘This is great,’ often accompanied by a plea for ‘more dogs,’” she says.

Other student comments supplied by Quinlivan:

  • “Providing a calm, stress-free environment really helps distract from the hectic pace of graduate school and helps me unwind. Thank you very much! I’ve come every year since undergrad junior year.
  • “The dogs really brighten my day and the libraries give me the tools (computers, books, etc.) I need to be able to get everything done in one place.”
  • “I loved it. Thank you for the coffee and snacks, and of course, the dogs.”
  • “There’s really nothing better than petting a fluffy dog when you’re stressed out.”

The first stress-relief program at UB began in 2011, due in large part to the efforts of Amy Lyons, associate director of HSL, and Pam Rose, HSL’s coordinator of web services and library promotion.

Rose, a long-time advocate of animal-assisted therapy, first suggested bringing in certified therapy dogs to HSL to provide stress relief for students during finals week. She recruited volunteers from such local organizations as Therapy Dogs of Western New York (TAWNY) and the SPCA’s Paws for Love.

“My life has been immeasurably enriched by animals of all species, and as I go about my volunteer work, I see those magic moments that happen when a child touches a snake for the first time, or an elderly person leans down to pet a dog,” says Rose. “Working with animals lets me bring joy to others in a way that I could not do alone, and enriches the lives of the animals as well.”

The success of that first stress-relief event led HSL to repeat the event; Lockwood librarians joined their South Campus colleagues the following semester, launching a stress-relief program in the spring of 2012 to reach more students.

Rose and her colleagues have collected data from students to measure the effectiveness of the program. But perhaps the best evidence of success, Rose says, has been the interest the program has attracted from outside the university, as well as elsewhere at UB.

“Organizers at local colleges have contacted UB for guidance” in setting up their own dog therapy programs, she says, and she also has seen interest from UB RAs, the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and Wellness Education Services.

In fact, the outside demand prompted Rose to write a book, “Guide to the Therapy Dog Team Visits at UB.”