Article by Willam Hanson. Photo by Willam Hanson.
As we hit the middle of the semester, students can be very stressed out with midterm exams and the end of the school year in less than two months. There are many ways to deal with stress including going to the gym, eating healthy, and getting optimal amounts of sleep, but these students are trying something different.
Healthy Huskies puts on an event every week called “De-Stress with Pets.” Students come to the event every week pet the dogs and sit and visit with their owners. St. Cloud State Student James McAuley said the pets have helped him with relieving stress in his senior year.
“There has been a lot of stress around senior year with my fourth year here and sometimes it’s just nice to unwind and relax and just pet some dogs for a little bit. It’s really nice to have as a resource available,” McAuley said.
Vice President of the Central Minnesota Animal Therapy Association, Ben Dockendorf has been helping students deal with stress for over 10 years. He enjoys talking with the students and can see when the pets are helping them.
“As soon as they come in, a lot of times you can tell that they are kind of a wreck basically with the studies and everything else. As soon as they come in, they’ll sit down with the dog and it’s just like all the stress goes away. It’s amazing,” Dockendorf said.
Students are enjoying the opportunity to hang out with the dogs and view it as a time to relax from their busy lives.
“The dogs are super nice and super friendly. They love getting pet and love when they get a couple little extra treats. The people that are with them as well, their owners are super nice, and they’ll always want to have a nice conversation with you,” McAuley said.
To learn more about where you can attend the De-Stress with Pets event every week, you can visit Huskies Connect.
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