ST PAUL, Minn. — It's the time of year when seasonal depression can coincide with the stress of studies on college campuses, but for the past decade, the University of Minnesota's Boynton Health Service has deployed a special team of therapy animals to help students cope.
"I grew up with a dog, so for me this is like my weekly dose of joy," said Caroline Brown, who takes time out of her schedule every week to take part in the PAWS program inside the student center on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus. "I work at the post office right there, so every Tuesday I'm working, so I just pop over for 10 minutes or so to say hi to all the dogs."
Brown was drawn to PAWS, which stands for Pet Away Worry and Stress, ever since she first laid eyes on a black lab named Ember.
"The dog I grew up with died a few years ago, but she was a black lab, too, so, I really like petting Ember," she said.
Ember's handler, Maureen Kleckner, says she's proud to be part of the effort, which brings therapy animals to students at different U of M campus locations four times a week when school is in session.
"When Ember sees someone that needs her, she just goes," Kleckner said. "She knows who needs her, she goes, she snuggles, she lays down. It's just amazing to see."
It's also amazing to see how much PAWS has grown.
Alison Brown and her Great Dane named Phoenix, just helped PAWS celebrate it's 10-year anniversary.
"He scored one of the t-shirts," Alison Brown said, pointing to Phoenix, who was wearing a t-shirt as he took up half of a couch inside the student center. "He's a big guy, 155 pounds, and he's fitting into a large, but he really should have an extra large."
Behind every laugh and smile the animals bring, there is usually a student with a story.
"It means so much just to be able to come and see some animals," said Abi Martin, who started coming to PAWS events as a freshman and now volunteers for the organization. "If I'm having a bad day, or a bad week, it just really lifts my spirits."
"There's kids that are just missing their animals," Alison Brown said. "There's people that are having a really tough time, there's people who aren't really fitting in and they've found a new community, a new family here."
"I started coming with my friends," said Bridgette Bowman, "but then made more friends, so that's really nice."
Though many of those friends are peers, Bowman also formed an unexpected bond with a therapy chicken named Henley.
"I never thought of a chicken being a therapy animal," she said. "And then when I found out she liked to cuddle, I was like, 'Hey, we have two things in common.' It's very comforting in an odd way, and it's just kind of a unique experience that I get to look forward to every week."
"All human beings need that, you know, we're hard-wired for connection," said Tanya Bailey, director of the PAWS program. "We're not hard-wired to be alone."
Bailey says that is the simple premise that caused her to start the PAWS program 10 years ago this month, but in the decade since she says she's truly witnessed how profound that connection can be.
"I have had students tell me, on a pretty significant level, that this program helped them stay on the planet," she said. "So often times that animal becomes that bridge, that bridge between 'I'm feeling really vulnerable and I don't know if I can tell you as the human being, but I can maybe pet this animal and while I'm doing that, it allows me to open up a little bit more.'"
And the benefits go both ways.
"We get just as much out of this as the students do," Kleckner said. "If you look around, all of these kids are right here, they're petting the dogs, they're talking to one another, they're talking to us, and - especially right now - we need to build community."
For information on the PAWS program and it's upcoming sessions on campus, click here.
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