By Luke Voogt
Therapy greyhound Jet helped Deakin University students paws the pressure of assignment deadlines as he padded into their waterfront campus on Wednesday.
Whether the students were having a ruff day, feeling a bit melan-collie or doggone, Jet was on hand to be their new best friend.
Students gathered in the library to give the ‘therapy dog’ a well-deserved pat.
But the workload began to tell on the nervy greyhound, who became a bit jumpy as he and students posed for a photograph with The Indy.
Jet was part of the Delta Society therapy program which visited Deakin’s various campuses.
Deakin University’s Sabina Robertson said campus’s library hosted a companion dog in May before the trimester one exams to reduce student stress.
“The visit was such a success that it was decided the experience would be rolled out across the other campuses for the Paws the Pressure program,” Ms Robertson said.
“Delta Therapy Dogs is a national non-profit organisation which has more than 1000 volunteers working with the organisation.”
The program’s original focus was health care facilities, but increasingly the therapy dogs had visited schools and universities.
“Our students and staff are looking forward to meeting and patting the Delta therapy dogs,” Ms Robertson said.
Delta Society’s therapy dogs have visited an estimated 20,000 Australians in hospitals and care facilities since the program began.
Groodles, Bernese mountain dogs and other assorted hounds visited Deakin’s campuses across Melbourne, Geelong and Warnambool as part of the program.
