PAWSing Student Stress: A Pilot Evaluation Study of the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program on Three University Campuses in Canada/Museler le Stress Chez L'étudiant : ÉTude Pilote D'évaluation Menée Sur Trois Campus Universitaires Au Canada Dans le Cadre Du Programme De Zoothérapie Canine d'Ambulance Saint-Jean

Animals are firmly embedded in many family units and are often included in how families define themselves (Tedeschi, Fitchett, & Molidor, 2005; Vanier Institute, 2009). More than one half of North American households have an animal living in them (McNicholas & Collis, 2006; Perrin, 2009; Stats, Pierfelice, Kim, & Crandell, 1999), with nearly half of those animals being dogs (Humane Society of the United States, 2014). Young adults who move away from the family home to attend university often leave behind important supports in their lives, including companion animals. With student mental health growing concern on Canadian university campuses in recent years, therapy dogs were first formally introduced in 2012 at the University of Ottawa. This article begins by situating the mental health needs of students on Canadian campuses and the growth of animal-assisted interventions as one response. The goals of the St. John Ambulance (SJA) Therapy Dog program-to offer love and support-are then established. Next, the immediate and three-month follow-up outcomes of pilot evaluation study of the program at three Canadian universities (University of Saskatchewan, University of Regina, and McMaster University) are reviewed during final examination period. It was found that the therapy dogs unequivocally offer love and support to students. Love was understood as having reciprocal love for the dogs and gaining positive feelings from visiting with them. Support was understood by students as destressing and relaxing from interacting with the dogs and to much lesser extent with the handlers. These findings, coupled with recent literature, also raise concern about female students identifying greater level of in their lives than males. This article makes an important contribution to the flourishing practice of, but dearth of empirical understanding about, animal-assisted activities on university campuses. Implications for mental health supports for university students are suggested.Animal-Assisted InterventionsAnimal-assisted interventions (AAIs) is the umbrella term for any intervention that includes or incorporates animals as part of therapeutic process (Fine & Beck, 2010). Canine-specific AAIs include animal-assisted therapy (AAT), where, for example, dog is part of therapeutic counselling session. AAIs also include animal-assisted activities (AAAs), which are the focus of this article. Animal-assisted activities provide opportunities for motivational, educational, recreational, and/or therapeutic benefits to enhance quality of life (Kruger & Serpell, 2006, p. 23). Specially trained professionals, paraprofessionals, and volunteers visit in variety of contexts with animals that meet specific criteria (Pet Partners, n.d.). An AAA is typically informal, takes places in variety of environments, and is not targeted at any specific medical condition or person (Huss, 2012, p. 444). While AAAs are explicitly not therapy (i.e., treatment goals are not identified), they can be therapeutic. The human-animal bond was introduced as concept in psychiatry, psychology, and sociology as early as the 1940s (Young, 2012). Today, the American Veterinary Medical Association recognizes that[t]he human-animal bond is mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and animals that is influenced by behaviors that are essential to the health and well-being of both. This includes, but is not limited to, emotional, psychological, and physical interactions of people, animals, and the environment. (American Veterinary Medical Association, n.d.)Young (2012) describes the mental and physiological experience of AAT and AAAs as a tactile process whereby unconditional attachment bonds form between animals and humans, inducing relaxation by reducing cardiovascular reactivity to stress (p. 218). Yet there is ongoing skepticism toward AAIs because of historic absence of empirical research measuring outcomes (Borrego et al. …

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