The Chaplaincy Celebrates Over Ten Years of Pups on Campus
Cute puppies might not come to mind when you think of the stress of college finals, but in the Office of the Chaplaincy, the two have been linked for over ten years! Every semester during finals season, the Chaplaincy hosts Study Break for the Soul, an event that welcomes several hundred students into the Wilton Center, the Chaplaincy’s home on campus. Study Break for the Soul features delicious food, live music, opportunities for stress relief and, the most requested offering of all: adorable dogs.
The Chaplaincy partners with Caring Canines, a local therapy dog organization, to bring pups on campus each semester. Dogs who are a part of Caring Canines are specifically trained and tested to serve as therapy dogs and are calm-tempered and perfect for petting when students are stressed and exhausted from studying, paper writing, and finishing up their end of the semester assignments.
On the Tuesday of final exam week in the Fall and Spring semesters, dogs of all shapes and sizes can be seen lounging on the Quatrefoil in front of Cannon Memorial Chapel, surrounded by eager students. For the past several years, an additional celebrity pup, unique to the Spider community, has joined in on the Study Break fun. Karla, the University of Richmond’s official Well-Being Dog, regularly spends her time in UR’s Well-Being Center. However, twice a year, she makes her way over to the Chaplaincy to spend time with students during this stressful season.
Because the pups have become such an important and popular part of the Chaplaincy’s end of the year programing, this semester we also started off the year by inviting Caring Canines to join us on campus. As a part of the University of Richmond’s “Weeks of Welcome,” the Chaplaincy hosted “Pups and Pops,” an event that invited students to join Chaplaincy staff and dogs for an ice cream or popsicle treat in front of Cannon Memorial Chapel on a Friday afternoon. The afternoon was a huge success for pups and people alike!
As the Chaplaincy continues to do all it can to ensure the success and spiritual well-being of our students, the pups will remain an important part of the warm and welcoming environment we create during these important moments in the semester.