PAWS: Pet Away Worry & Stress

Stressed out? Come de-stress and forget about your worries with Boynton Health. PAWS sessions feature registered therapy animal teams—including dogs, bunnies, chickens, and other therapy animals like cats, miniature horses, Guinea pigs and fancy rats—that you are welcome to interact with and pet. Sessions are FREE and open to the University of Minnesota community.

The goal of the program is to be a stress-reducing outlet for the University community. Animal interactions have been demonstrated to positively affect blood pressure, heart rate and stress hormone levels in humans.

For many young adults, entering college and being away from home often means saying goodbye to their pet, a constant, trusted ally and confidant. Boynton seeks to provide Animal Assisted Interactions (AAI) in its continued effort to meet student needs, especially in the areas of stress reduction and life skills development. 

Focused on well-being, AAI teams are volunteer handlers who are specially trained and evaluated, along with their animal partners.