Therapy dogs to visit Park Library before finals week
Courtesy of Claire Allen. Stella, the therapy dog, is being rubbed by students at Central Michigan University's Park Library.
Therapy Dogs International, or TDI, is coming to Central Michigan University's Park Library at their request, to provide stress relief and comfort to students who want some furry companionship from certified therapy dogs.
They will be on the library’s second floor from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Dec. 4 to the 5 and from 1 p.m to 3 p.m. on Dec. 8.
Claire Allen, organizer of the Therapy Dogs event at the library and coordinator of marketing and branding at CMU Libraries, said the event is for students to unwind among the plethora of work they have to do during the finals week.
“With the library being a central location for studying ... we want to offer students the opportunity to have study breaks, take a pause from the work and just come visit the dogs and distress a little bit,” Allen said. “Most dogs bring joy. If people want to come visit the dogs, that's usually what they get out of it.”
The dogs are certified through TDI. It is a volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to the regulation of therapy dogs for their volunteer owners for the purpose of visiting places like CMU. It primally operates in the U.S. and in some parts of Canada, according to TDI's website page.
Allen said that she has been organizing Therapy Dogs at Park Library since March 2024 for students at around exams times throughout the semester. That's why they are going to be at CMU before final exams this Sunday.
Allen said that the library was not the only place that welcomed therapy dogs. She said that the Counseling Center and the Bovee University Center also host therapy dogs from TDI.
