In Dunedin’s Student Halls, a Good Dog Session Ends With Every Dog Asleep

For 10 years, a volunteer group called K9 Kuddles has brought dogs into the halls of residence at Dunedin’s university and polytechnic to help stressed students stay calm. Halls of residence are student dorms, and a polytechnic is a college focused on practical and technical training.¹

Now the group needs a new coordinator. Co-founder and organizer Jacinta Grey is moving out of town, and her two dogs are going with her.¹

The group isn’t shutting down. It is looking for someone to take over, and it welcomes more dogs as members.¹

When the dogs show up

The visits come at two times of year. One is the start of the year, when students are settling in. The other is exam time, when stress levels rise.¹

The dogs come in all shapes and sizes. Grey’s own pair covers a fair stretch of that range: Ernie is a papillon, and Whitney is a whippet.¹²

Grey described the handlers’ approach in an interview with presenter Lisa Owen on RNZ’s Checkpoint program.¹²

“We just try and melt into the background and keep it all calm and relaxed, and make sure everyone is happy,” Grey told Checkpoint.¹

She said the dogs understand they are there for the people, not to play with each other.¹

How to tell a session went well

According to Grey, a good session has a reliable sign of success.

“All going well by the end of the session, all the dogs are asleep,” she told Checkpoint.¹

A room full of stressed students is not usually where anyone dozes off. The dogs manage it anyway.

What the new coordinator would take on

Grey’s role went beyond turning up with her own dogs. She coordinated the volunteers and assessed the dogs that wanted to join the pack.¹²

That job is now open. If someone takes it on, and more dogs and their handlers sign up, a program that has been visiting Dunedin’s halls for a decade can keep going.¹