Therapy Dog Helps Duquesne University Students De-Stress During Finals Week

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Thanks to a program run by Animal Friends, therapy dogs have been used at nursing homes, hospitals, all sorts of places where people need emotional support and comfort.

So what better place for one than a college campus during finals week -- when months of hard work and success, or failure, can hinge on a single test?

Enter Mya, a 5-year-old Newfoundland who is on a university tour helping to de-stress the region's underclassmen.

Mya was at the library at Duquesne University on Friday.

"Ultimately, the emotional well-being and the emotional health of students is really important to us," Christie Kliewer, Duquesne University library outreach coordinator, said. "It's a nice break from the high stress of focusing on what needs to be done."

One reason the students love it so much is because many had to leave their own pet at home when they went to school.

"I personally have a dog at home, so it's just like a little bit of home," one student said.

"I miss my dog a lot, so that's one reason," another student said, "but also because it's finals and I don't think people know how to de-stress as well as they can and seeing a puppy and immediately not even thinking of anything but the puppy... It's just a good way to take a break."

Duquesne says it's gotten a great response to having Mya on campus. A steady flow of students came to visit her while KDKA was there Friday.

Mya has also visited Allegheny County Community College, Robert Morris, and the University of Pittsburgh. But with finals week in full swing at Duquesne, her visit couldn't have been timed better.