Along with final exams comes stress. Now more colleges are bringing in something to help with that.. something with four legs.
At Hollins University in Roanoke County, a 2 year old rescue dog named Andy, offers a welcome break from hours of studying in the library. Andy ran up to students and even gave some of the students dog kisses to say hello.
Lightning is a Bassett Hound, another rescue whose owner brought him out to mingle with the college students.
It's a perfect way to take a break from studying. Ashley Hargreaves ia a freshman who admits she's feeling the stress. "oh yes, of course," Hargreaves said. The pet therapy is a welcome way to ease the tension.
Andy pranced over to Hollins University Junior Lindsay Stern and gave her several wet sloppy kisses across her face. With love like that she can feel the stress melt away.
"It's just fun to have dog love. It's really cute," Stern said. "It's a really nice break since I have dogs. It's a really nice reminder of home.""They're just so cute and cuddly. It's like you can't worry about exams when a dog is around," said freshman Kacee Eddinger.
There is a science behind the canine therapy.
"It's a well known fact that just being able to just feel this warm fuzzy critter is a great stress reliever for human beings," said Kathy Perdue with the Roanoke Valley SPCA.
This is the first year the SPCA has done this event at Hollins University. It hopes to do it again next year.
