The story appears on

Page A10

December 16, 2010

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » World

Students given dog therapy to ease stress

TUFTS University is throwing stressed-out students a bone: therapy dogs to play with during their final exams.

Colleges have long extended library hours and offered extra counseling around test time. Now they're adopting quirky stress-fighting events for students, who face a tough job market in addition to finishing up the semester. From dog visits to free midnight massages to laser tag, students are getting help navigating those last days before turning in papers and taking finals.

"I hope these puppies make me happy and give me a nice break between studying ... just cut the studying a little bit," 19-year-old Tufts freshman Chloe Wong said, petting an Australian shepherd brought in by her resident director. She called her first semester "challenging."

But on Tuesday, the community health major got to relax and play with a set of dogs that resident director Michael Bliss brought in for her and other Tufts students he serves in Massachusetts.

Therapy dogs have long been used to cheer up the sick and elderly. But more colleges are embracing the idea as a stress reliever and a way to engage students, said Brian Van Brunt of the American College Counseling Association.





 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend