Media Advisory: Dogs in the Library? UB's Unusual Way to Help Students Cope with Stress During Final Exams

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- For college students, it doesn't get much more stressful than finals week. Entire semesters can hang in the balance.

Thankfully, the University at Buffalo Libraries [http://library.buffalo.edu/] has found a way to ease the tension: therapy dogs. For three days this week more than a dozen pooches will visit two UB libraries, offering students a chance nuzzle with something aside from their schoolwork.

It's part of a trend. Other institutions of higher learning such as Emory University, Kent State University and Macalester College are doing the same.

The dogs and their human companions that partnered with UB come from Therapy Animals of Western New York, or TAWNY [http://therapyanimalswny.org], an organization that promotes the healing powers of dogs and other animals.

Media are invited to see the dogs in action from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Dec. 12-14 at:

-- Room B-15, lower level, in the Health Sciences Library in Abbott Hall on South Campus. For a map of Abbott, visit: http://www.buffalo.edu/buildings/building?id=abbott

Onsite contact: Pamela Rose, web services and library promotion coordinator, at 829-5722

-- The staff lounge in the basement of Lockwood Memorial Library on North Campus. For a map of Lockwood, visit: http://www.buffalo.edu/buildings/building?id=lockwood

Onsite contact: Kathleen Quinlivan, communications officer for UB Libraries, at 645-1326

UB's Health Sciences Library began bringing therapy dogs on campus during final exams in December 2011. For this week's event, the libraries will also offer coffee, snacks, soothing music and chair massages.