UTEP offers therapy dogs to stressed students during finals week

From a distance the University of Texas at El Paso campus seems quiet and calm.

But there’s tension beneath the surface.

This week, thousands of students are taking final exams and with finals, comes stress.

“I have a scholarship, so I have to get all As, so it does stress me out,” said Youth Shape organizer Valerie Gutierrez.

“Of course you think of everything that can go wrong, of course you’re freaking out,” said Karen Trevino.

Trevino is one of the many students tucked away in a classroom studying for that A.

But thanks to the UTEP Shape Youth organization she found a way to get relief from the tension.

The Barkfest is a program designed to reduce stress through therapy dogs.

The canines are provided by Therapy Dogs International.

The dogs often visit nursing homes, wounded veterans and now they visit aspiring professionals.

Students were visiting the dogs throughout the day.

At one point there was a line to pet the four-legged fur balls.

According to Gutierrez, the program has been a success.

“I see an upside down smile and at the end of the day they are like ‘Oh my gosh, I want to come tomorrow. I’m going to bring my friend.’ And a lot of them have shown up twice in a day,” said Gutierrez.

“It just makes me happy and as you saw the dogs they just want to be loved and they just want to be petted so it’s a lot of fun,” said Trevino.

The therapy dogs will be at Benedict Hall, room 101, until Thursday.
They are available between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.