It’s the dog days before finals week, thanks to Furry Friends and BARK

Is 20 minutes too long to wait in line to pet a dog?

Not for biochemistry major Jayetha Panakkadan ’17. She has a slew of finals coming up next week, and a little chill time with a canine was just the de-stressing moment she needed about now. As Panakkadan waited outside the Furry Friends for Finals booth in Attallah Piazza on Wednesday afternoon she explained why.

“I’m doing this because I don’t have any pets,” Panakkadan said. “It gets the endorphins going. I love it. I did it last year, too.”

Furry Friends for Finals is a pre-finals-week tradition sponsored by Active Minds and the Student Psychological Counseling Services, a program of
Student Health Services
. Each semester a dozen or so members of Beach Animals Reading with Kids (BARK) and their four-legged pals set up camp in the piazza so that everyone who wants to can take a moment to get some tail-wagging therapy with the dogs. You might even say the dogs know a little something about passing big tests — all are graduates of the AKC Canine Good Citizen program.

It’s work because the dogs must be on their best behavior, said Bob Burmeister, who brought Chester, his French Brittany pointer, to Furry Friends. But the dogs enjoy it, he said.

“He likes people,” Burmeister said. “He’ll be exhausted later, though.”

Just like college students after finals.

Students can find more friendly help for finals at Leatherby Libraries, which will remain open 24 hours now until 10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, and offer free cookies, coffee and tea at select study areas.