The Silent Risk for Campuses Without Therapy Dogs
On today’s college campuses, conversations about mental health are happening, but comprehensive solutions lag behind.
We’ve long known that dogs bring comfort. They reduce anxiety, calm nerves, and offer a sense of connection when words fall short. But these benefits aren't just feel-good anecdotes. A growing body of research shows therapy dogs can play a real, measurable role in supporting student mental health.
The question is: What’s the cost of NOT having a therapy dog program?
A groundbreaking PAWs4US study* from Washington State University set out to explore this very question. Researchers followed first-year college students over a full semester—some who had regular access to therapy dog sessions, and others who didn’t.
The results were striking:
Students who engaged with therapy dogs saw their symptoms of depression, stress, and worry stay steady or improve.
Students who did not engage with therapy dogs saw those same symptoms get significantly worse over time.
In other words, it wasn’t just that therapy dog programs helped. It was that the absence of such programs actively contributed to decline.
This should be a wake-up call for every school, college, and university.
Therapy dogs aren’t a luxury or a nice-to-have. They’re a low-barrier, high-impact intervention—one that’s backed by data and felt in the hearts of students who interact with them.
We cannot afford to overlook the emotional, academic, and human cost of leaving therapy dogs out of our educational environments.
At Thank God for Dogs, we believe in bringing comfort, connection, and care into every corner of education—and beyond. Because when we invest in therapy dog programs, we’re not just supporting emotional wellness—we’re protecting futures.
Want to help shift the conversation?
Share this post with a parent, educator, or campus leader who cares about student well-being. One conversation could be the catalyst for lasting change.
*Pendry, Patricia, and Alexa Carr. “Regular Access to Therapy Dogs Buffers Declines in Wellbeing.” Pets 2, no. 1 (2025): 108–124.
