Whether you miss your pets at home, are having a stressful week or simply need a break from life, the University of Massachusetts Center for Counselling and Psychological Health (CCPH) has a solution: pet therapy for all students.
CCPH holds 15-minute Pet Therapy Drop-In groups every Wednesday in the Middlesex House with three different hosts and their therapy dogs.
The three dogs, George, Rosie and Doolin, are trained and evaluated by Bright Spot Therapy Dogs, Inc. According to its website, Bright Spot is “a non-profit organization dedicated to placing well trained certified therapy dog teams in meaningful programs that provide comfort and caring through the human-canine bond.”
According to Beth Prullage, a co-coordinator of Groups and Workshops at CCPH and a licensed social worker and pet therapy host, UMass introduced animal-assisted therapy in fall 2022.
Prullage said research shows that animal-assisted therapy has good health results and has been shown to relax the nervous system and lower blood pressure.
Jen Camuso, a junior psychology and education major, went to Pet Therapy during a stressful week. Afterward, she said she felt relaxed and happy, and wanted more interactive therapy.
CCPH started doing pet therapy because, in addition to the benefits, Prullage said people were missing their pets while away at college. Participants enjoy the comfort the dogs give them.
“I hope that the benefit is that people feel more connected to either other students or to a dog over the course of the visit,” Prullage said. According to Prullage, the three dogs are all different in personality, and each dog gives a unique therapy experience.
Prullage is Rosie’s owner and has had her since she was eight months old. Rosie is a 60-pound Black Lab who was bred to be a seeing-eye dog, but failed out of school for lack of confidence.
“She’s a sweetie,” Prullage said. “It’s just really fun to see her connect with students.”
Cindy Moschella is the owner of George, a three-and-a-half-year-old Havanese. According to Morchella, dogs can qualify to become a pet therapy dog at one-year-old. George has been a therapy dog since he was three. Moschella described George, and the Havanese breed at large, as “velcro” dogs because they follow their owners around and like to be near them.
Ben Vo, a freshman biology major, does not have a pet of his own but saw Pet Therapy on Campus Pulse. Like Camuso, Vo and his friend Ann Bu, a freshman biochemistry major, felt happier and more relaxed after their session.
While Rosie is a little more rambunctious than George, Prullage and Moschella said their dogs go into therapy dog mode and calm down when their vests are put on.
The third therapy dog, Doolin, is a Bernese Mountain Dog and is owned by Eileen Hirsch.
CCPH offers about 15-20 different group therapies and workshops each semester, including ones for improving sleep, working with LGBTQ+ individuals, anxiety management and more.
“There’s a lot of problems where it can be really useful to hear from other people with some ofthe same experiences,” Prullage said.
Students interested in Pet Therapy or other CCPH groups and workshops can find this semester’s schedule on Campus Pulse.
Juliana Pinelli can be reached at [email protected].
