The Sims Memorial Library Breezeway filled with students as six friendly and adoptable dogs raced to meet them and be loved on.
The dogs were brought to Southeastern by the St. Tammany Humane Society for “Puppy Therapy” as a way to help students relieve stress during finals week preparations. The unique therapy and dog cuddle session was held from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 3.
“I had been reading a couple articles about pet therapy dogs being really good for people being in stressful situations. We know that students get really stressed out especially the week before finals,” said Beth West, distance learning librarian. “So we thought that it would be great to get the dogs here for students to pet and interact with for some stress relief.”
The St. Tammany Humane Society is Louisiana’s largest non-profit, no kill animal welfare organization. More than 1,000 unwanted, neglected and abused pets are taken in each year.
“I contacted the Humane Society and they were really excited about the idea,” said West. “I think the major benefit of this isn’t necessarily to get the dogs adopted by the people who are here, but just to get them out the shelter and get people to know about the Humane Society.”
Midnight, a Chihuahua Terrier mix, came from a hoarder that had 25 dogs. Midnight is a year old and has been with the Humane Society for about a month.
“She came in very scared and shy,” said Ashley Duplantis, Humane Society worker and freshman elementary education major. “It took about a week for most of them to get used to me. So if she gets adopted, she’ll need some time.”
Speedy, a boxer mix, was dropped off with a full litter when he was only six weeks old and is the last of his litter, which was found by chance and later delivered to the Humane Society
“People find them and bring them in, sometimes people move and they can’t bring their dogs with them, sometimes they just get tired of their dogs and they bring them to us,” said Beth Wethzel, a volunteer at the Humane Society.
While many students were expecting to see small puppies, it was apparent the dogs were all fully-grown and Duplantis picked up on this misnomer.
“The puppies we do have at the shelter are not old enough to come here,” said Duplantis. “They haven’t had all their shots yet and they could catch everything on the ground. They should’ve put ‘dog therapy’ instead of ‘puppy therapy.'”
All six of the dogs brought received an abundance of attention from the students who came by for a relaxing study break.
“The entire breezeway was filled with people when I got there. Lots of people were waiting,” said Tim Reling, a senior psychology and criminal justice major. “When the puppies got there, they were all really excited to see us. They brought them around and they were actually running from person to person to be petted.”
Many students commented that they would like to see “Puppy Therapy” happen more often.
“I’m enjoying it. They’re fun little dogs and there are different ones, so if you don’t like the one, you can always go to another,” said Matthew Pham, a freshman finance major. “They’re all real calm, quiet and they’re not barking or anything. It actually has helped relieve stress. I wish they were here for the exams too.”
Several students asked why no cats were brought. According to Jamie Valle, adoptions and foster coordinator, cats don’t transport well.
“This is the first time we’ve done this, but it’s been a really big success so I think we’re going to do this again at least every year,” said West.
For more information on the St. Tammany Humane Society and how to become involved call 985-892-7387 or visit sthumane.org.