In Canada, university’s ‘Puppy Room’ offers stress relief during exams

Canadian Dalhousie University recently set up a Puppy Room to help de-stress students during final exams.

It’s a well-known fact that pets can reduce stress levels and improve their owners’ health, so we weren’t entirely surprised to see Yale Law School’s library loan out a therapy dog to stressed students a few years back. Operating on a similar principle, Canadian Dalhousie University recently set up a Puppy Room to help de-stress students during final exams. The idea for Dalhousie’s Puppy Room came from a third-year Environmental Science student and was immediately picked up by the university’s student union, according to a story in the Dal News. Thanks to a partnership with Therapeutic Paws of Canada (TPoC), three dogs were made available for cuddling and play during three sessions at the Dalhousie Student Union in early December. They weren’t actually puppies, since young dogs can get overwhelmed by crowds, and that turned out to be a good thing because the event’s first day alone reportedly drew almost 500 students. Such was the demand, in fact, that the Dalhousie Student Union added free shuttle service to the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals branch as another alternative. The video depicts the Puppy Room in operation: Similar programs have been spotted in other universities and work places around the continent, including one at Harvard Medical School. How could you turn a love of animals into a stress-relieving business plan?