Social Sciences goes to the dogs
Bronwyn Shaw plays with Scout during a recent visit to campus. A new program will bring SPCA therapy dogs to campus for visits with Social Sciences students.
Oct 09, 2014
This article was first published on Daily News. Read the original article.
The first day on campus can be an exhausting one – especially when you spend part of it chasing your own tail.
So it was for Scout, the one-year-old border collie and “spokesdog” for a new therapy dog program for students in the Social Sciences.
The program, in partnership with the Hamilton-Burlington SPCA, will bring assistance dogs to campus to visit with students throughout the year.
An early-September visit saw students play with Scout outside the Faculty of Social Sciences office in Kenneth Taylor Hall.
“Universities across Canada are beginning to add assistance dogs to the range of support programs offered to students,” says associate professor James Gillett, whose specializes in animal-assisted interventions. “The assistance dogs from the SPCA will provide an opportunity each week for students to unwind, connect with fellow students and learn about the campus and campus life, including services like the advising office in the Social Sciences.”
The program is part of a pilot study that seeks to better understand the nature of the human animal bond.
The dogs will be on campus every other Wednesday from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. beginning Oct. 8, and can be found in Togo Salmon Hall Room 112B.