Evaluating college student interest in pet therapy.

UNLABELLED The first year of college can be extremely stressful, especially for students residing on campus. OBJECTIVE The authors obtained information from college freshmen about their relationships with pets and investigated interest in a pet therapy program as social support for transient stressful periods. PARTICIPANTS As part of a university orientation program, 246 college freshman attended 1 of 5 health issues sessions offered during the 2006-2007 academic year. Approximately 50 freshmen attended each session. METHOD Participants completed a questionnaire at the beginning of the session, followed by a 20-minute presentation about pet therapy that ended with pet therapy visitation. RESULTS Students identified that visits with certified pet therapy dogs could be beneficial to college freshman during their first year away from home. CONCLUSIONS These students indicated that a pet therapy program could temporarily fill the absence of previous support systems and be a catalyst for establishing new social relationships.