CSN student Emily Thompson chills out Thursday in the library.
A chill yellow lab named Ginger plopped down on the floor Thursday afternoon, and soon, College of Southern Nevada students plopped down there with her.
The students smiled. They nuzzled Ginger. They laughed, and they hugged Ginger’s dog friends, and they all appeared to have a great time sitting there on the floor of the library on CSN’s Charleston campus as if they were having a picnic.
“My professor told us there would be dogs, and I didn’t even care why. I just came,” said one of the students, Emily Thompson, who’s studying cardiac sonography.
She’s an animal lover, she said. So it was a no-brainer for her to come.
Others came too. Lots of others.
It was a fun diversion, having the dogs visit the library just as students are getting ready to do final research papers and get set for final exams.
“A short break like this can make a big difference for students,” said Beth Schuck, CSN’s Library Services director. “It can really help reduce stress.”
There were five dogs visiting, including Ginger. They came from Love Dog Adventures, a well-known local therapy dogs nonprofit.
Sue Grundfest, the group’s director, said the dogs often are used to help comfort children and adults who’ve been through rough times: abuse or trauma, sometimes a learning disability such as autism.
Visiting some potentially stressed-out students seemed like a breeze for the dogs, though.
By the looks of them, they enjoyed it just as much as the students did.
Which is good because Schuck said the event went so well that they’ll almost certainly do it again next semester.