Imperial celebrates one-year anniversary of therapy dog programme

Every Wednesday, students in the Department of Life Sciences are treated to a unique form of stress relief – a visit from Holly, a therapy dog.

Her visits are provided by Therapy Dogs Nationwide, a national charity that enhances health and wellbeing through visits by these temperament-tested pets. 

Holly, accompanied by her owner Janine, spends an hour and a half with students who have signed up for 15-minute slots. The initiative, which started last academic year, has quickly become a beloved tradition within the Department of Life Sciences.

The Department’s Education Office Team presented Holly with her own staff ID card and lanyard to celebrate her one year of service to Imperial’s student body. 

Positive student feedback

The motivation behind the initiative came from Amelia Barron, the Department’s Undergraduate Liaison Officer, who previously worked in the Department of Chemistry and saw firsthand the impact that therapy dogs could have on students. 

"We had many students asking for puppy days, but it felt like a one-off event wouldn’t address the ongoing need for stress relief," said Barron, "So we looked into the research and found that regular dog visits could actually reduce stress and lower dropout rates." 

The initiative is open to all students, from undergraduates to PhD students, and it has been so popular that there is often a waitlist.

"We’ve received so many positive comments from students that it was clear how much of an impact Holly was having,” Barron said.

Therapy Dogs Nationwide provides Holly’s visits free of charge, and the department staff helps manage the sessions. “The students have fallen in love with Holly,” said Barron. “You see regular visitors and first-time visitors. It’s really created a sense of community. The staff enjoys it as much as the students.”

She’s definitely added something special and unique that we can offer students for their wellbeing whilst at Imperial James Andrewes Education Manager, Department of Life Sciences

“Holly and Janine are both extremely friendly and happy to meet everyone that attends the sessions. She’s definitely added something special and unique that we can offer students for their wellbeing whilst at Imperial,” said James Andrewes, Education Manager at the Department of Life Sciences. 

Livy Jong, a BSc Biological Sciences undergraduate student and the Departmental student wellbeing representative, said: “I love Holly, I visited her after an exam and it eased all the stresses of the day.”

For students who are missing pets at home or may be struggling with academic pressure, therapy dogs may offer some respite. "During high workload times when I’m spending long hours in the library, petting a dog is a super restful break that I’ve been enjoying," said Matthew Romero, a final-year BSc Biotechnology undergraduate student.

"Her visits always remind me of my dog back home, and it’s such a welcome and peaceful escape from all the stress," Matthew said.

The success of the Department of Life Science’s pilot programme may inspire other similar initiatives across Imperial.

"The Departments of Physics and Mathematics have expressed interest in starting something similar," Barron noted, “Hopefully, we’ll see more therapy dogs around Imperial."