Therapy dogs ease students' anxieties during finals week

By PAT FRANTZ CERCONE

Student Bethany Kier caresses the nearly white fur on the back of Satchel, a 9-year-old Labrador retriever, slides her hands down to scratch the dog’s belly, then up to its ears for some gentle rubs.

Satchel loves the attention, but Kier, an environmental studies major, is enjoying it as well.

“It kind of takes my mind off all the studying I have to do,” said Kier, who was in Hanley Library to prepare for two science finals and one in English.

You might say it’s shaping up to be a rough -- or maybe that’s ruff – week on campus. After all, it’s finals week. However, dogs will be visiting campus to help students relax a bit as they prepare for their exams.

Bringing the canines to campus was spearheaded by Kim Bailey, reference/instruction librarian, who wanted to host an activity in the library to help student de-stress.

As a dog owner herself – Bailey owns a pit bull and a chocolate Labrador retriever – she knows firsthand how pets can help relieve stress. After reading about other universities hosting therapy dogs during finals week – Kent State, Emory University, Temple University – she started researching the topic and found several studies touting the benefits of dog therapy.

Bailey collaborated with Nathan Lawyer, a history-political science major from Coraopolis and a member of the Student Government Association, and Beth Mills from the Olean (N.Y.) Kennel Club, who agreed to bring to campus her therapy dog Bree, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel. Mills then called other therapy dog owners to see if they’d be interested in coming to campus.

Though Bailey originally planned to have one dog on campus for the week, the response was so great there are now six.

Joining Bree this week are Sierra, a beagle, who was on campus Monday with her owner David Marowski; and Satchel, who came on Tuesday with her owner Diane Meier. On campus Wednesday were Rufus, a Pembroke Welsh corgi, and her human Sharon Smoker; and Maddy, a Papillion, with her owner Bonnie Saunders. Bree and Mills will be on campus today, and Faith, a golden retriever, and her owner Judy Stratton will finish the week out on Friday.

For an hour or two each day, the pooches will perform their doggie duty, available for pats on the head, scratches behind the ears, hugs around the neck and rubs on the belly. Students can come whenever they want – or need – some paws-ome relaxation.

“This is a great opportunity to give students some stress relief, which we hope will help them perform better on their final exams,” said Dr. Steve Hardin, Pitt-Bradford’s vice president and dean of academic affairs.

Stress is a real problem for college students, not just at Pitt-Bradford but at schools all over the country. According to the National College Health Assessment, which was released in the spring of 2013 by the American College Health Association, more than half of the 123,000 students surveyed rated their stress levels as either more than average or tremendous.

Knowing that stress can adversely affect students’ test-taking ability, several people on campus in past years have provided free stress-relieving activities during finals week, including massages and snacks in the library’s lobby and food after hours in the KOA Dining Room.

This is the first time, though, that finals week has gone to the dogs, literally.

It’s not just a cute idea – though it is a really cute idea -- but one steeped in science, as Bailey discovered. Studies have shown that interacting with dogs, as well as with other pets, provides myriad health benefits, including lowering blood pressure, reducing muscle tension, and, most apropos for college students, helping to calm and relax them by elevating their serotonin and dopamine levels.

And these dogs know what they’re doing. After all, they’re educated. They may not have a degree in paw-litical science or bark-eting, but each one has been certified, either through Therapy Dogs Internationals or Therapy Dogs Inc. Satchel, the yellow Lab, is a certified guide dog.

After Satchel has had enough love from Kier, he walked over to Amanda Spittler, a nursing major from Bradford, and without any preamble started licking her face. Spittler didn’t mind a bit, though she wisely kept her eyes and mouth tightly shut. Once the kissing was over, Satchel sniffed her from head to toe.

“So I smell good?” Spittler asked. “It’s because I have dogs that he smells every bit of me.”