Virtual dog therapy sessions offered to University of Pretoria staff and students during the cool off period before exams

On the weekdays between the 23rd and 29nd of June 2021, the Department of Library Services (DLS) hosted six virtual dog therapy sessions – not only to University staff and students, but to anyone who felt in need of a little canine relief!

The library’s marketing office realized that handling the pandemic and its implications has been very difficult and challenging to students and staff members. Mental health during this time is very important and we had hoped to receive the TOP Dogs therapy dogs on campus again to provide some stress relief. Petting, touching and interacting with the dogs was such a big hit with our students and staff members in 2019! Research indicates that interaction with a dog lowers blood pressure and is associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Being midyear and with the rise of COVID-19 infections, the organizer had to rethink this stress relief exercise and had to opt to organize the sessions virtually.

The virtual therapy sessions were a first – not only for the library, but also for the organization, TOP Dogs. Touch Our Pets Therapy Dogs (aka TOP Dogs) is a non-profit organization and is mainly involved with Animal Assisted Activities, Animal Educational Programmes and Animal Assisted Therapy. Read more about their programmes here: https://www.therapytopdogs.co.za/#Activities

Six handlers (mainly from Pretoria, but also from Johannesburg and Jefferys Bay) volunteered their dogs and services for the virtual therapy sessions. On the particular day of the virtual therapy session, the handler made herself comfortable in front of the computer with her dog on her lap or sitting beside her. The dogs were kept motivated with all kinds of doggy treats – from homemade peanut-butter cookies to salami sticks, as their handlers had to hold their attention for 30 minutes! The attendees could ask questions and most preferred to make use of the Chat function in the Zoom session. The handlers also showed some images of their dogs in real-life therapy sessions. The sessions were live streamed to the UP Library Services Facebook page and can still be viewed here:

The Beagle Finnegan with his handler Shelley
The Border Collie Cross Emma with her handler Brenda
The Instagram Beagle celebrity Rolo with his handler Carissa
The Pekingese Cross Milo and his handler Jennifer
The Wire-haired Jack Russel Honey and her handler Cheryl
The biggest dog was the Golden retriever Nougat and her handler Dione

The evaluation of the sessions indicated that 44.4% of the attendees were support staff members, 31.1% were undergraduates, 13.3% were postgraduates and 11.1% were academic staff members. The two top reasons why they chose to attend these sessions were because of their love for dogs and the fact that they needed a break from their work lives.

Some of the testimonies concluded that the sessions were enjoyed by most of the attendees – even though they were virtual. The organizer was content – the goal was to make people forget about their circumstances for a short while.

Attendees left the following responses in their feedback to the virtual sessions:

“Best sessions ever!! Very uplifting and a mood changer!!!”

“Thank you for organizing this. Although nothing compares to the real deal, I truly enjoyed the sessions. And I'm looking forward to the day when we can meet snout to face again.”

“Thank you for that session! The pictures were so touching and the stories were so inspiring and uplifting!!

“I appreciate the effort taken in putting this together. I feel strongly that interaction with animals does reduce stress levels and is therefore very important for wellness.”

“This initiative is wonderful! The virtual aspect of it did not detract from the experience; it was lovely stress relief!”

“The session was delightful and well worth attending. Encouraging questions from participants really helped to increase the interaction with the handler.”

“This really changed my mood in a positive way!!”