Pilot program lets students check out Monty the ‘therapy dog’ for 30 minute sessions
A three day pilot program at the distinguished law school, which only accepts six to seven per cent of applicants and counts three sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justices and former presidents Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford among its alumni, was launched this week where stressed out students can check out Monty, a “therapy dog”, at the library, reported the New York Times.
Monty, a brown border terrier mix according to ABC News, was available for 30 minutes at a time starting Monday Mar. 21, though the university isn’t revealing where the dog will stay when it’s not playing fetch with it’s high strung new friends.
In an email sent to students, law librarian Blair Kauffman wrote that “it is well documented that visits from therapy dogs have resulted in increased happiness, calmness and overall emotional well-being,” according to the Times.
Sebastian Swett, a second year law student at Yale who signed up for a session with Monty, told the Times that while he didn’t believe the program would solve anyone’s anxiety issues, “it’s certainly nice to play with a dog for half an hour.”
Other universities that have launched dog therapy programs include Tufts University in Massachusetts , Oberlin College in Ohio, and UC San Diego in California.