BU Hires Therapy Dogs For Stressed Out Therapy Dogs

BU HILLEL— BU Hillel hosted a therapy dog event to help ease the nerves of stressed-out students in the midst of finals season. The event generated a significant attendance of around 1,000 students, likely because it’s the main mental health service BU offers. While students left the event feeling relaxed and restored, the ten dogs tasked with calming the masses of students left feeling the exact opposite. By the end of the event, they were showing signs of distress and anxiety.According to one of the dog’s owners, “The students vented to my dog for three straight hours, and honestly he’s just feeling really overwhelmed after that.”“We love the approach of using therapy dogs for treating symptoms of anxiety and other mental health concerns, and we have decided to employ it in this scenario as well,” said Martha Robinson, a BU representative. “As such, we have hired three therapy dogs to treat the other therapy dogs.”The administration has reported that the dog to dog therapy is going well, but that the new group is displaying similar symptoms of stress as the last group like pacing around endlessly and peeing in the house.Robinson further explained that “Having healthy therapy dogs for students is a much more efficient use of our limited mental health resources than hiring real, human mental health professionals. You’re welcome, students, for saving your tuition dollars!”At press time, the administration announced plans to replace the entire mental health program at Student Health Services with one Golden Retriever puppy.