The pre-vet club partnered with the psychology club to bring a much-needed break to FMU students via puppies and kittens with the annual Pause for Paws event on Dec.1 under the Fine Arts Center Breezeway.
“For us, we benefit the students and the faculty here at Francis Marion because who doesn’t want to cuddle with puppies and kittens before exams?” Coordinator of Veterinary Studies and biology professor Tamatha Barbeau said. “The stress just melts away. Just hold a kitten or a puppy and forget about it just for a little bit.”
Pause for Paws has been taking place since the spring of 2019. There was a brief hiatus in 2020, but the event has taken place every Friday before final exams since then with the goal of de-stressing students.
“I think it’s just good,” Barbeau said. “It’s good for morale, it’s good for people psychologically, emotionally—everything. So I think that’s what it does for the students.”
FMU partners with the Florence Area Humane Society (FAHS) for the event, and the shelter brings a selection of puppies and kittens for students to hold, pet and — for the dogs — walk around on leashes.
“I think it’s a fun event that’s kind of like a partnership with students and with pets because pets can sense when people are tense: when they’re worried, when they’re fearful, and so they provide comfort, especially when you’re under some kind of stress like exams,” FAHS President Jayne Boswell said.
The event does not just benefit students, however. Boswell explained that the animals also gain something from a rare bit of one-on-one playtime.
“On the other side, these pets need love and they need time one-on-one,” Boswell said. “In a shelter environment, they don’t always get a chance to have one-on-one time with people, so this is a perfect combination.”
While some students doted on the animals, others had the chance to color or play games at the psychology club’s table. The club also offered advice to students on ways to handle pre-exam stress.
“[The students] can take a mental break, Barbeau said. “It’s hard to be obsessed and stressed about all the deadlines coming up, and I remember what it was like to be a student and you’re just tired and sometimes sick, or you’re just preoccupied all the time… And you do need a break, a mental break.”
Every semester, the pre-vet club also collects supplies for one animal organization via boxes placed around campus. This semester, all supplies went towards the Florence Area Humane Society. The chosen organization for each semester is based on what the members of the pre-vet club’s want.
“What I like is the idea that there is just so much compassion here,” Boswell said. “Our world is kind of a tough world right now, and to know that people love the animals and that the animals love them back, I think that’s the compassionate world that we all want to see.”
Next semester, Pause for Paws will return, along with the donation boxes for a certain animal organization. Those interested in finding out more about how to help the FAHS may visit the website at https://florencehumanesociety.org/.