Many people find petting and playing with animals fun and doing this can actually benefit a person’s health.
Dogs and other animals can be used for therapy, especially during times of stress.
The Main Library and other locations are known to hold events which invite therapy animals in.
Tammison Smith, a career services coordinator for MSU, owns a therapy dog and assists with the planning of bringing therapy dogs to the Main Library around finals week.
Smith said when a person pets a dog, feel-good hormones like oxytocin, are released which can impact a person’s stress level.
“We know it lowers people’s blood pressure, heart rate and children’s perceived levels of pain,” Smith said.
Some might think therapy, assistance and service dogs are the same – but there are distinct differences between them.
A service animal is assigned or trained for a person with a documented disability and can be taken to restaurants or the mall. They are protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Assistance animals are not protected under the ADA but can be assigned or trained for persons with a documented disability and are used to mitigate an aspect of the person’s disability in their housing situation.
Smith said therapy dogs can be any age, breed or size. She trained her dog at age nine.
“This is my pet ... my therapy dog. He doesn’t have legal rights (like assistance or service dogs),” Smith said.
A therapy dog does have to take a series of tests to ensure they have the right temperament. Once they pass, they can be requested to help people, such as during finals week when student stress levels are at a high.
Smith said anyone interested could get their dog certified, but it might be difficult for some.
“It depends on their situation. It’s hard to have a dog in the residence halls,” Smith said.
According to MSU’s Service Animal Policy, a person with a disability may be accompanied by a service animal on campus.
Assistance animals may also be allowed in university housing, but regular pets, aside from fish, are not allowed.
Exceptions may be made for certain animals, like therapy animals, if prior arrangements are made — such as the events in the library.
For students unable to commit to adopting a pet, Ashley Hayes, special events coordinator at the Ingham County Animal Control, said students can volunteer or even foster animals.
The fostering process allows people, who may be unsure where life will take them in the near future, to care for a pet without adopting them for life.
“It works well for students because they can bring animals back to the shelter,” Hayes said.
Students who can’t dedicate the time to foster but still want to interact with animals are able to visit the shelter and volunteer or just play with the animals when they have time.
“Volunteers come in all the time, and they can do everything, like sitting in the cat room and groom cats,” Hayes said. “It’s really great because you get to spend to time with the animals without having to commit to them.”
Hayes said potential volunteers must fill out a form and attend an orientation at the shelter, usually held the first Tuesday of the month with occasional Saturday sessions.
