Dog Therapy Day

Helping seniors’ high stress levels at Norwalk High School

Chloe Zako, Paw Print Reporter|April 16, 2023

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          April is Stress Awareness Month. This is important month to think about those who are experiencing high stress levels and bringing awareness. Students are having high stress levels lately due to school and the upcoming of college. This year especially, is stressful for seniors. A lot of students that I know are losing their motivation because they are stressed out and the year is slowly coming to an end. Instead of continuing to talk about it, we should do something about it. What is something that makes people happy? Dogs! A Dog Therapy Day would be a great idea to have for those who are struggling with their stress levels in school. This would be an optional opportunity for students and forms will be sent out to parents. 

 

         Many peers I have talked to, are experiencing high stress levels that are contributing to their choices at school. They are unmotivated and stressed due to being a senior in school and trying to push through the last couple of months. Especially with seniors, there is a lot to do with college or what they are going to beyond their high school years. With that, it contributes to not focusing in class because there is other focus somewhere else. Finals will be coming up and the stress levels will go up even more.

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“My stress levels this school year are extremely high and it is affecting my motivation in school.

— Neil Alvarado ('23)

This goes to show that stress levels are rising and it is becoming an issue within the school environment. 

 

Dogs are considered domestic animals that usually make people or their owners happy. There are volunteer dog groups that go to certain places…such as hospitals to help people relax and distract themselves onto something else. If we consider having a day where dogs come to the school, it can help many students relax and bring up their endorphins. A “Dog Therapy Day” would create many benefits for students and would help create a better school community. (Especially with seniors). At Norwalk Hospital, therapy dogs come visit not only the patients but also the workers. The workers often work overnight and have high stress levels due to the hard working hours. This helps the people at the hospital relax and have something else to think about. The only thing that would make this difficult to do would be the process. Although, if we start now and get more people involved, this can happen.

 

The process includes bringing this idea to the district and getting it approved. We would also need to reach out to dog volunteer groups to have the dogs come to the school. Parents permission would have to get signed included with a waiver. The dogs would be in a separate room and this would be optional. Students (seniors) would have to sign up in advance and get parent approval. This would be during school and students would look forward to getting a break from schoolwork to spend time with cute dogs.

 

Although this process may sound difficult, this is a great idea due to the lack of motivation and high stress levels. It is scientifically proven that dogs can help humans release endorphins and not think about other stressful things going on. Students can also take a survey before this is decided to see how many people would want this opportunity. If more people get involved, the sooner we can make this happen. Let’s have a DOG THERAPY DAY!