The University of the Philippines – Diliman introduced the campus’ first emotional support dogs, Cotton and Tisay, yesterday, February 12 at the Quezon Hall.
UP Diliman Chancellor Michael L. Tan announced a new program will allow students, faculty and staff to interact with the emotional support dogs in campus to help them relieve stress.
Cotton is a yellow Labrador-Asong Pinoy (AsPin) mix from UP’s College of Mass Communication, while Tisay is a brown aspin from the Quezon Hall.
In a Facebook post by Utak at Pusa, which is a project initiated by Friends of Campus Animals-UP (FOCA-UP), the dogs wear maroon collars so that people may know they are vaccinated and neutered.
Psychological benefits
According to Psychology Today, a number of companies offer a dog-friendly environment in their offices to reduce stress among its employees.
Stress and Health published a story about a massive decrease in stress levels among college students after the University of British Columbia brought therapy dogs in campuses that offers free pets and cuddles during their “de-stressing sessions.”
In the Philippines, dogs by the name Pakko and Freckles were the first dogs in 1997 to offer emotional support among children’s hospitals and homes for the aged. They were one of the “Dr. Dogs” coordinated with the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).
After countless research and studies, it only show one thing – animals surely provide a comforting companionship to everyone.
