PAWS of CNY was pleased to participate in “Healthy Monday” on Monday, September 29. The event, organized by two resident hall activity directors at Syracuse University, aimed to promote an afternoon of stress-free wellness for students living at Day and Flint residence halls, located on Syracuse University’s “Mount Olympus.” The event was part of the “Mondays on the Mount” activity series for the two residence halls.
The event was attended by several PAWS of CNY teams, including Karin Laskowski and her golden retriever Piper.
“Piper loves getting lots of attention and petting,” said Laskowski. “She was so excited to make everyone happy and she thought she was there to please them. The attention that they gave her in return was fun to watch. They thought they were making her happy but she was actually making them happy.”
PAWS of CNY has greatly expanded the number of both academic, and corporate, stress-reduction events that they attend over the past two years. The increase in activities has been a direct result of the increase in demand for pet-assisted wellness events.
“I think that pets can assist in stress reduction by just being there for the students,” said Laskowski. “Pets are unconditional loves, no questions asked and the students don’t need to worry about being judged or tested on how they interact with the dog. Being allowed to pet and visit with the different dogs allows them to not think about tests [or] grades for a few minutes of their busy lives.”