By Mary Beth Coniglio
PAWS of CNY volunteers attended a de-stress event at the State University of New York (SUNY) Oswego. PAWS of CNY’s volunteer handlers and certified therapy pets visited with students at Cayuga residence hall to encourage them to take a break from studying and de-stress.
The students were taking a break from finishing term papers and studying for finals and had the opportunity to visit with PAWS of CNY volunteers Sue Vaughn and her Labrador Bert, Holly Besaw and her cat Hector, Wendy Davenport and her Golden Doodle Fiona, and Martha Sturtz and her Golden Retriever Flyer.
The PAWS of CNY volunteers visited with about 125 students. The most gratifying moments of PAWS of CNY’s college de-stress programs are when students express their overwhelming gratitude and appreciation for the pet therapy services. One student at Cayuga Hall commented that this was the best thing that happened all week. Many others echoed the sentiment by commenting, “We really needed this,” “It’s so soothing,” “Please return!”
Many students took selfies with the dogs. In return, the pets got lots of love, and everyone left feeling calm and refreshed.
For more information about PAWS of CNY’s de-stress programs, visit our programs page.