While students were busy studying for midterms on Monday, Hunny, a registered therapy dog, was at the Undergraduate Library for a different kind of work. The Australian cattle dog mix enjoyed attention from stressed students who needed a break from their work.   

The Undergraduate Library, in collaboration with the International and Area Studies Library teamed up with the Champaign-Urbana Registered Therapy Dog Group to bring in one of three therapy dogs to campus. Hunny was available Monday on the main floor of the Undergraduate Library for students, faculty and staff to pet, play with and walk for three hours. Event planners scheduled the event during midterm season as a way to bring stress relief, said associate professor Dave Ward, who works in reference services at the library.

Ward said the idea was formed at the Yale Law Library, where their therapy dog Monty provides a diversion for law students.

“The idea is to meet with the dog(s) and relax,” Ward said.

This is the first time the libraries have ever held such an event with therapy dogs. Ward said both libraries will look to make this a regular event if it is successful this year.

Mary Davis, Hunny’s owner and admissions and records officer in LAS, is an officer for the Dog Training Club of Champaign-Urbana. Davis has been training dogs since she was 14, and she knows how much having access to a dog can help with stress.

“When I went to school, I stayed close to home so I could see my dogs,” Davis said.

Davis said she got 6-year-old Hunny from a shelter after she was found severely injured — shelter staff assumed she was likely hit by a car — and was given a second chance by the veterinarian who cared for her. Davis said she was glad Hunny was given that chance.

“She was waiting for me at that shelter,” she said.

Therapy dogs, Davis said, are trained step by step. They start out with basic obedience training and then work their way up. Davis said each dog has potential, and therapy dogs harness their “talents” for service.

At least 100 students stopped by to visit with Hunny and ask questions about therapy dogs. Jessica Skogh, sophomore in Media, was one of them. She said she, like many others, had a “crazy stress week.” Skogh said she was busy with exams, papers, projects and extra work for the Marching Illini for Homecoming. She said she was glad to see a dog in the UGL.

“It’s impossible to be upset around a dog,” she said. “You can put all your stress on their shoulders.”

The program will be held again Tuesday in the Undergraduate Library from 2-5 p.m. and again at 7-9 p.m. with two new dogs respectively: an Alaskan malamute named Sam and a standard poodle named Raven.

Chris can be reached at [email protected].