If you stood in the lobby of the University of West Florida library recently, you could actually hear the stress leaving the building.
Dozens of students lined up. All of them a bit anxious. They were waiting for their chance to sit on the carpet and pet a dog.
Thomas Jonte, the department head of reference at the library, watched the transformation in real time as students walked in with slumped shoulders and left with actual smiles.
“This is kind of crunch week or hell week,” Jonte said. “They just need to chill out from all that stuff.”
The process was simple: students received ten minutes with therapy dogs before heading back to the books.
Kellie Sparks, evening reference librarian and marketing coordinator, said she loves organizing this event for students every year.
“We are here as caregivers as well as cheerleaders in their academic journey,” Sparks said.
She watched as a group of students circled a golden retriever, their faces lighting up as they competed for a spot to scratch behind the dog’s ears. She said the goal was to create a moment where the weight of a GPA did not exist.
“Not think about their studies, not think about what is going on, but have a moment of peace and joy,” Sparks said.
For UWF junior Miriam Polite from Panama City, the shift from survival mode to joy was immediate. Polite, who was facing a mountain of four exams, sat on the floor surrounded by the happy chaos of wagging tails and student chatter.
“I feel pretty prepared, but yeah, everything is going pretty well,” Polite said. After a few minutes on the carpet, she added, “I feel so much in love.”
That shift is rooted in biology. Dr. Patricia Gleich, an instructor at UWF, brought her therapy cocker spaniel, Zofie, to help students relax.
“The act of petting a dog reduces stress levels and reduces blood pressure,” Gleich said. “A lot of the students here left dogs at home. Being able to pet dogs that want to be petted fills a void.”
While the solution looked simple, licensed mental health counselor Elise Lovelace said the decompression was vital because of how complex student anxiety has become. Lovelace, who has worked with young adults in Pensacola for more than 20 years, said anxiety is often an oversimplification.
“We use anxiety as a word that is an umbrella for a lot of things,” Lovelace said. “You are feeling stress because you have a lot of things to do in a short amount of time, and you also worry about performance.”
Lovelace said that the pressure often comes from external expectations rather than the syllabus alone.
“What I see is really coming more from the parents than the kids,” Lovelace said. “They are not interested in that study, but they feel like that is what their parents want.”
When those paths do not align with a student’s interest, the pressure of finals can lead to shame. That is why the laughter in the library is so significant. It provides a space where expectations disappear. Lovelace said these joyful breaks are the secret to long-term success.
“Let us create a schedule and find some breaks that feel good for you,” Lovelace said. “We are trying to build resiliency. This is temporary, you are going to get on the other side of this.”
For international students like 21-year-old senior Imogen, the atmosphere acted as a bridge while navigating a foreign grading system and homesickness.
“There are a lot more exams here. It’s so stressful,” she said. “They (the therapy dogs) make my day better.”
Later in the day the students headed back to their desks, but they were walking a little lighter. They’ve practiced the most important skill they’ll learn in college: how to bend without breaking.
“You can get through a hard thing and then recover,” Lovelace said.
If the pressure starts to feel like it’s too much to carry alone, she added, “That is when it would be helpful to talk to somebody.”
