Connecticut University Offers Adorable Therapy Sheltie To Chill Students Out Before Finals

College dorm life can take an awful lot for students to get used to. Sharing a room with strangers, dealing with different climate if you’re far from home—and certainly doing your own laundry. But one aspect of adjusting to college life that’s rarely talked about is the real sense of loss that occurs from leaving your family pets behind. Overbearing parents and bratty younger siblings might be a relief to escape, but what about your beloved fluff ball? Who will sleep at the foot of your bed (other than your drunken roommate, who seems to have gotten lost?) Who will throw up in your shoes? (Actually, wait a second…)

I have one friend who smuggled his pets to college with him. His parents were getting divorced, and neither of them wanted to take his aging dogs, so he took them on, and they became mascots of his frat house. I well remember the way my friends and I would go nuts anyone so much as walked a retriever through the campus green.

Fairfield University, in Connecticut, seems to understand the unbridled joy that a friendly canine face can bring to stressed-out students, which is why it offers sessions with a therapy dog to help not only bridge the gap for kids who left their pets at home, but also anyone who needs a little doggie affection during the stressful exam season.

Related: Therapist's Dog Bringing Pillow to Every Patient Is Too Cute to Miss

The therapy dog sessions were arranged at the university’s DiMenna-Nyselius Library, in conjunction with the school’s ongoing wellness initiatives and a campus “Animal Love Club.”

In the video, you can see students oohing and aching over a small fluffy dog who appears to be a Shetland Sheepdog, sometimes called a Sheltie.

Is a Shetland Sheepdog Right For You?

Shetland Sheepdogs are one of the most popular breeds in the country, and for good reason. They are smart, playful, affectionate, and easy to train. As is usual for “working breeds,” they are extremely high energy, and need to be properly trained and regularly exercised to keep them from becoming mischievous and potentially destructive. The good news is, they love being trained to do specific tasks and fulfilling a role. They are excellent at field work like agility and other skills, and for this reason they are often trained to be service dogs.

Why Shetland Sheepdogs make Great Therapy Dogs

Shetlands are exceedingly smart dogs, like many in the herding group, but they also have a gentle, friendly nature that makes them wonderful family dogs. They’re sweet and affectionate, which is why they are used to often as therapy dogs and medical alert dogs, like the one seen here.

Their small size also makes them easy to transport around to appointments like this one, and keeps them from intimidating their clients, especially if they are young kids. Finally, their longish, luxurious coat is a joy to pet.

We can’t get over what a cute idea it is to bring in therapy dogs to soothe the students’ frazzled spirits during finals. Fairfield University is one of the only schools to even have a full-time therapy dog in the Nursing department to live on campus, but they also bring in visitors.

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