PAWSS visits the NAIT campus
By Admin User on March 9, 2023
Pets Assisting with Student Success (PAWSS) visited NAIT’s campus. The team brought their star four-legged member, Bristol.
“It’s a visitation program where students can just drop in and see them. NAITSA has adopted this program, and we have eight dogs within NAITSA that are simply pets of our staff, that have been certified to visit with students,” said Rose Martin Baumgartner, NAITSA.
PAWSS started in 2017 at MacEwan University and has gained popularity amongst other post-secondaries since then.
“I understand why he’s a therapy dog. He made me feel super calm,” said Ben Low-on, NAIT student.
It’s been proven that pet therapy releases endorphins to calm nerves and help reduce blood pressure. This leads to positive feelings and feelings of motivation.
According to Bristol’s mom, NAIT saw a reduction in students going to see counselling due to pet therapy.
For more information, follow NAITSA on Instagram @naitstudents to learn about the next pet therapy session.