{"id":5728,"date":"2019-12-20T05:17:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T22:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/?p=5728"},"modified":"2020-11-06T01:20:48","modified_gmt":"2020-11-05T18:20:48","slug":"acc-therapy-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/acc-therapy-dogs\/","title":{"rendered":"ACC Therapy Dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin Dog Alliance Brings Therapy Dogs to Help Students De-stress\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

Written Story by: Marissa Greene<\/b>
Video and Photo by: Alexa Smith\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

One too many cups of coffee. Deciding whether or not to pull an all-nighter. Spending more time on Quizlet than you thought one human was capable of. If you got shudders from any of those sentences, you have experienced finals season.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the busy lives of many students and professors at Austin Community College, finding healthy ways of coping with the stress final exams bring may be challenging. This fall semester, ACC was able to provide students and staff a method of alleviating the stress that was both helpful as well as adorable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From Dec. 2 through the 6 therapy dogs from the Austin Dog Alliance visited ACC libraries at the San Gabriel, Highland, and Riverside campus to support Riverbats through their exams. In exchange for belly rubs of course. Quintana Roo, a chocolate brown, floppy-eared therapy dog and his partner, Heather Herrick, a dog handler and member of the Board of the Directors for The Dog Alliance visited Highland Campus for Riverbats as share the value of therapy pets in one\u2019s life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dog Alliance is a donation-supported, nonprofit organization that began in 2006 in Cedar Park, Texas. Since then, the organization has grown to have over a hundred therapy teams in addition to a wide range of programs tailored a variety of services from veteran\u2019s assistance, visiting hospitals, and even providing an outlet to reduce stress in places of education and\/or work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe visit 350 places and there are constant requests. So it\u2019s actually really hard to keep up because there are so many requests and there are only so many teams,\u201d Herrick says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although this may just look like a number to some, members of The Austin Dog Alliance recognize the amount of people who are in need of therapy and may not have other resources available to them for assistance. For ACC student, Emily Weller, being a double major in video game design and English can be tough during finals season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot everyone can afford to see a therapist and so it helps to be able to let out your stress with a furry animal,\u201d Weller says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Weller was not the only student stopping by to see Quintana Roo and Herrick that day. Whether Riverbats planned to go or found the event as a nice surprise, students bonded over their exams, connected with the Austin Dog Alliance, and even flipped pages through Quintana Roo\u2019s book made by Herrick herself. Sunny Cole,\u00a0 general studies major with a focus in culinary arts, opened up about the importance of recognizing that it is okay to reach out for help when having feelings of stress or sadness.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are kind of like a white-knuckle society in the fact that we\u2019ll try to just get through this and don\u2019t need any help. But the thing is [that] accepting help is probably one of the most freeing things that you could do.\u201d Cole says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you would like to get involved with The Austin Dog Alliance visit <\/span>https:\/\/www.thedogalliance.org\/volunteer<\/span><\/a>. If you are feeling stressed, depressed, or having suicidal thoughts seek assistance with an ACC counselor. For immediate help reach out to any of these hotlines below.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n