"Pet Therapy" for Students

Yesterday's Indiana Daily Student newspaper had a front-page story titled "Pets Help Rid Students of Finals Stress." The article was about a student group of Indiana University students that conducted an event called the Furry Finals Fix with their dogs at one of the dorms. The idea of the program was to allow students to "de-stress" during final exam week. "The event was based on the premise that animals are good therapy," stated one of the organizers.

Another organizer talked about animals being helpful to relaxing and easing stress because they are accepting of everyone. One student commented in agreement, saying: "Animals have a natural way of calming you down and relaxing you."

Reading the article made me wonder if RT students should organize such "pet therapy" sessions on university campuses throughout America. Perhaps RT students could organize such a national program through ATRA in order to ease the stress of fellow students during exam weeks. Such a national event could also bring positive attention to recreational therapy and display how RT can be helpful to almost everyone.