Parkies Go Barking Mad for Pups

Ithaca College students had a wild time in the lobby of the Roy H. Park School of Communications Nov. 5 as they met and played with dogs belonging to Park School faculty and staff.

The Pups of Park event was advertised by the Park School as a canine therapy opportunity for students. According to the Brain Possible, canine therapy refers to when service dogs are used to support patients during therapy. While this event was not formal canine therapy, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, research shows that petting a dog alone has been proven to lower stress and blood pressure.

April Johanns, student and external relations coordinator in the Park School of Communications, said she brought her dogs Bob and Brooklyn to the event for a few key reasons.

Johann talks about why she brings her dogs to the event including

so they can help students relax as pictured.

The JED Campus Initiative --- a project of the JED foundation which broadly supports the mental health of teens and young adults --- allows universities to partner with the foundation to assess and promote mental health resources for students.

Ithaca College has partnered with the JED Campus Initiative since 2020. As an element of this initiative, the college completed the 2021 Healthy Minds Survey. Of 1,221 students who participated in the survey, 20% reported experiencing severe anxiety and 21% reported experiencing moderate anxiety. In the same survey, 25% of students said they felt lonely and that they often lack companionship. According to Johns Hopkins medicine, exposure to pets can also help ease loneliness and depression.

Junior Kate Miller said seeing the dogs made her day better, because they reminded her of her own family dog who she misses while in Ithaca. Miller said seeing the dogs made her feel increasingly relaxed and she particularly connected with one dog named Snag.

Miller talks about Snag the dog, pictured.

Another student, junior Michael Bunning, said he stopped to see the dogs on his way out of the Park School after class.

"It makes me feel better," Bunning said. "I was really tired when I woke up and wasn't having a good day, so it makes my day a little better."

While Pups of Park was an independent event, it is not the college's only attempt to help students relieve stress during the pre-final exam period. The JED Campus Initiative is also hosting a Stop & Breathe Week from Dec. 1 through Dec. 7. Events include a garden party, a sensory space, button making and meditation sessions.