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Penn students go to the dogs to take a bite out of study stress

Instead of taking a nap to de-stress after her final exam, Penn freshman Rae Tao watched a dog named Dolce skateboard, play the piano and jump through hoops.

Instead of taking a nap to de-stress after her final exam, Penn freshman Rae Tao watched a dog named Dolce skateboard, play the piano and jump through hoops.

"I love puppies," she said. "It's just so much fun."

Rae - and Dolce - attended the University of Pennsylvania's second-ever "Canine Chillout," a pet-therapy study break held in Rodin College House to help students get through finals.

Nine dogs bounded around a lounge on the top floor of the high-rise dorm, playing with about 100 students, doing tricks or just receiving lots of attention.

The event was hosted by VETPETS, a pet-visitation outreach program developed by Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine. All the dogs in the program belong to Penn Vet faculty, staff and students who volunteer to come to VETPETS events.

VETPETS regularly holds sessions with children and families of sick kids staying at the Ronald McDonald House in West Philadelphia, said professor Cynthia Otto, the VETPETS coordinator who helped organize the event. The program also occasionally hosts special events at such places as Penn or the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, she said.

Third-year veterinary student Laurel Redding said that she brings her dogs, 2-year-old labradoodle Cookie and 10-year-old springer spaniel Talitha, to VETPETS to "give back" to the community.

"I don't know a single person who isn't cheered up by a dog," she said.

For some students, like sophomore Lucas DeForest, the "Canine Chillout" was mainly "a really big stress-reliever" in the middle of a week of exams, projects and term papers.

Otto emphasized the physical benefits of pet therapy. Being around dogs, she said, helps lower blood pressure, regulate breathing and "generally improve your state of being."

And for others, it was a rare chance just to have what Otto called "hugging time" with the dogs.

"I have a dog at home and really miss her," said junior Jaci Rifkin. "This was an opportunity to have dogs just wait for me to come play with them."

All the dogs involved are therapy-certified, which involves being "reasonably calm," good with people and willing to be handled by a lot of people at once, Otto said.

But VETPETS does more than just help stressed-out students, said second-year veterinary student Molly Harrington.

"The dogs really enjoy it," Harrington said while petting her golden retrievers, Boo Radley and Ayn Rand. "It's important for them to feel like they have a job, too."

The room was packed, and students crowded around each dog. Tanya Jung, an assistant dean of Penn's College of Arts and Sciences who lives in the dorm, said that she has "never seen a turnout" like this for any other dorm event.

Being around the dogs is "kind of relaxing," sophomore Varesh Prasad said.

Plus, junior Matt Byrne added, "Dolce is a sick skater."