Virginia Tech® home

VT Therapy Dogs bring joy to students in Newman Library

Loading player for https://video.vt.edu/media/1_a5untnin...
Category: campus experience Video duration: VT Therapy Dogs bring joy to students in Newman Library
The VT Therapy Dogs from the Cook Counseling Center put on a skills showcase event on April 29, 2022 at Newman Library. The event shined a spotlight on the many talents of the VT Therapy Dogs and offered a joyous break for students as they gear up for finals.
This event is called the Skills Showcase and it's really about bringing together a bunch groups on campus and talk about progress over perfection. The skills that we've got, the skills that we want to have, the things we've done this year to grow. And so it's a partnership between Hokie Wellness, VT Therapy Dogs and the University Libraries. We're thrilled to be collaborating with the library because the library is where students are. And it's accessible, centrally located on campus. It's easy for students to get to. And it's also a way to bring the counseling center outside of the counseling center. If I was holding office hours in the counseling center, students may not be as apt to come, but the library is non-threatening. It's an to come meet with the therapy dogs. Being a college student is really hard. And sometimes you just need that burst of joy in your day and that is what a dog can do for most folks. You get a pet or a smile or a game of fetch and just seeing the dogs go by recognizing them and sometimes them recognizing you, it's just this burst of joy and positivity that all of us can use. But especially in college when sometimes you're having a really rough day or a rough week, it can really just bolster your happiness, your joy, and let you know that you're not alone and you're supported here on campus. We also have them come for finals to be around at a time when it's really busy for students and also really busy for the libraries and making sure that that support is right here where students need it, when they need it. When you're around the dogs, it's calming, it's uplifting. They do something cute and makes you smile. The dogs provide a sense of stress relief that I don't think humans can do in the same capacity. We try and make sure that we're a space that students feel at home. This is a space where you can come, you can study, you can eat, you can hang out with friends. You can work on art, all of these things. And so it's a space where a lot of students are coming to do a lot of amazing work and also just hanging out and spending their time. And so it's a great place for the dogs come to hit a large amount of students and to be able to interact with as many students as possible. So there are many spaces on campus like that. The libraries is one place that we help students feel at home and feel like they can come and do their work, their art, their play and everything in between.