By Kayla Perry

Can puppies really help reduce stress? Krystal Siebert, a fourth-year bio-med student, thinks so.

“The puppies are great,” said Siebert, as young Cubby, a black lab mix, wriggles in her arms. “With midterms around the corner, playing with the care-free puppies really helps my stress levels.”

Between Oct. 7 and 9, puppies could be visited on the second floor of East residence. They came to campus as part of Laurentian University’s healthy living initiative, and Francesca Cundari, a third-year Human Kinetics student at LU, worked with the school to organize the visit in an effort to relieve stress in students during mid-term exam time.

“The puppies are here to relieve stress – and who doesn’t love just hanging out with a puppy?” said Cundari. “It’s good for the puppies, and it’s also good for (students). Playing with and petting the puppies takes your mind off of exams or anything else that may be stressing (students) out.”

The puppies come from Sudbury Petsave, and were all available for adoption through the organization.

With a steady stream of visitors over the three-day period, Siebert said she believes that student and puppies alike were de-stressed.

lambda@laurentian.ca