This has got to be the BEST idea ever! Dalhousie University in Canada is offering a new fun way for students to de-stress in between final exams. They could have opted for massages or nap time, but instead chose puppies. The school is planning on designating a room on campus for students to come and play with puppies during their exam time, December 4 through December 6.
Now don't you wish YOUR school had done this during exams?
Dalhousie is teaming up with Therapeutic Paws of Canada, a non-profit organization that trains animals to help people with therapeutic or practical needs. The plan is for the room to remain open for two hours on the first day of exams and for five on the last two days.
Words can't express how excited I am for these students and how envious I am that my college didn't provide these services. To be fair, during finals week my school would offer lots of activities on campus to partake in–but none of them involved puppies! I mean who doesn't love to spend quality time with a playful pooch?
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And students seem to be all for the idea even taking to Facebook to express their excitement. The U.K. Daily Mail reports that the school's student union first shared the news by placing an ad about the puppy room on their Facebook page. They received over 2,000 likes within 24 hours.
Surprisingly, this isn't the first university to try out this therapeutic tactic. Other schools that have used the puppy de-stressing technique are Kent University, Emory University, and even Ivy Leagues such as Harvard and Yale have begun to offer pet-friendly dorms. But what is it about puppies that is so relaxing?
Emory's pet therapy program creator, Richelle Reid, explains that students feel less stressed because puppies help them take their mind off studying and other schoolwork. She even recalls the impact the puppies had on one student who never smiled until he took part in the therapy.
There couldn't be a better method to get students to relax than this one. Playtime with an adorable puppy sure beats watching TV to escape school stressors. I'm sure this semester they will all be passing their tests with flying colors
Image via Dalhousie Student Union/facebook
