Due to stress from school midterms, tests, and projects, Sharon Forks Library is providing a dog therapy drop-in for stressed students on Thursday, December 12th; they are collaborating with Humane Hearts in Meeting Room Side B from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Humane Hearts is a program whose therapy animals are owned by those who want to step forward to help those in our community.

“The role of therapy dogs is to react and respond to people and their environment, under the guidance and direction of their owner.” according to The Conversation, 

Therapy dogs have been proven to improve a student’s mental health by reducing stress, anxiety, feelings of loneliness and depression, and encouraging social contact between people. According to the American Kennel Club, a student from the University of British Columbia, Emma Ward-Griffin, teamed-up with her colleagues to create a study observing if time with a therapy dog truly does increase a student’s well-being.

“In the longer-term approach, the students that participated in the therapy dog sessions reported a greater improvement in their experience of negative emotions, perceived stress levels, and perceived social support than those students who did not take part in a therapy dog session,” said the study.

The Forsyth County Public Library event calendar can be found here. Sharon Forks Library is located on 2820 Old Atlanta Road, Cumming, GA, 30041.

Make sure to stop by the library to relax with the therapy dogs before your midterms or EOC exams!