Therapy dogs: 'Perfect medicine' to help students survive finals

By Jen Christensen, CNN

Updated 1628 GMT (0028 HKT) December 19, 2013

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CanineAssistants, an Alpharetta, Georgia-based nonprofit group, brings therapy dogs-in-training to help Emory University students with finals stress.
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Therapy dogs help students de-stress – CanineAssistants, an Alpharetta, Georgia-based nonprofit group, brings therapy dogs-in-training to help Emory University students with finals stress.
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An Emory student crashes while studying for finals. Studies show excessive stress can impair memory.
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Therapy dogs help students de-stress – An Emory student crashes while studying for finals. Studies show excessive stress can impair memory.
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To become certified, the dogs must master 90 commands and maintain a total sense of calm.
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Therapy dogs help students de-stress – To become certified, the dogs must master 90 commands and maintain a total sense of calm.
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Counselors say finals stress often causes a kind of tunnel vision. The dogs help students step out of themselves and relax.
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Therapy dogs help students de-stress – Counselors say finals stress often causes a kind of tunnel vision. The dogs help students step out of themselves and relax.
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Even after just a couple minutes, students visibly relax with the dogs.
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Therapy dogs help students de-stress – Even after just a couple minutes, students visibly relax with the dogs.
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Studies show canine interaction increases a human's level of oxytocin, a hormone that reduces anxiety and blood pressure.
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Therapy dogs help students de-stress – Studies show canine interaction increases a human's level of oxytocin, a hormone that reduces anxiety and blood pressure.
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Emory pre-med student Ali Serpe, center, tells the dog she is petting, Wesley, "You are the perfect medicine for finals."
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Therapy dogs help students de-stress – Emory pre-med student Ali Serpe, center, tells the dog she is petting, Wesley, "You are the perfect medicine for finals."
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At the end of their dog sessions, Emory students often took photos of their new furry friends to carry a piece of calm with them.
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Therapy dogs help students de-stress – At the end of their dog sessions, Emory students often took photos of their new furry friends to carry a piece of calm with them.
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Emory therapy dog 1Emory therapy dog 9Emory therapy dog 2Emory therapy dog 6Emory therapy dog 3Emory therapy dog 4Therapy dog studentsEmory therapy dog 7

Story highlights

  • College campuses around the country are bringing in dogs to help stressed students
  • Canine interaction increases oxytocin production, a hormone that reduces anxiety
  • Studies show petting dogs lowers blood pressure
The tension at Emory University's Robert W. Woodruff Library is palpable.
It's finals. Nearly every single desk is full amid a flurry of activity. A young woman in an Emory sweatsuit tears through her notebook as the furious whoosh of pages turning carries through the hushed study area.
Next to her, a group of young men stand in a circle, leaning in and frantically whispe