On Wednesday 18th January, we brought you Aberystwyth’s very first dog petting room!
On Wednesday 18th January, we brought you Aberystwyth’s very first dog petting room! It’s scientifically proven that spending time with a pet can reduce stress levels, so we teamed up with Alpet Poundies Rescue, who brought along ten of their beautiful dogs for the day so that you could pet, play and cuddle your way through the stress of the exam period.
Naomi Cutler, your Aber SU Welfare Officer and organiser of the event said: “The exam period can be a stressful time for students, and we want to ensure that our students are as happy and as healthy as possible during their time in Aberystwyth. We’re really grateful that Alpet Poundies have come along for the day to give our students a chance to have a play and a cuddle and to take their mind off of the pressure of exams for a while.”
On the day, nearly 700 students and staff came along to the event and we collected £900 in donations for Alpet Poundies – proving that you’re all paw-some! Alpet Poundies send their personal thanks to each and every one of your for your generosity, adding “You have no idea what this means to us at this moment. I hope that the students did enjoy the dogs and that they all had enough time with them. One benefit, all I can hear is snoring from them [the dogs].” Linda White, who runs the kennels, told us the van that is used to transport the dogs, and is vital to their work in rescuing and re-homing the pooches, had recently broken down and they were struggling to find the money to fix it. Your donations mean that the van can now get back up and running! You got to cuddle some dogs and you helped out a worthy cause, doesn’t that just make it the best day ever!?
The day also remembered Stefan Osgood, as donations to cover the base cost of the day were generously given by Kirsty Parish and her friends – all of whom are Aberystwyth alumni and close friends of Stefan. In light of mental wellbeing being an important part of university life, Kirsty wanted to give something back to AberSU in Stefan’s honour, and we think that this event was the perfect fit. All of our thanks go to Kirsty and her friends for their generosity.
Make sure to check out our Facebook page to see if you were snapped by our photographer, and if you took any photos on the day we would love to see them – just post them on social media with the hashtag #AberSUdogday. Make sure to give us a like on Facebook and to follow us on Twitter and Instagram on @UMAberSU.
Last, but not at all least, thanks to YOU for making the day such a huge success. We’re over the moon that you loved the event and it was great to see the smiles on your faces. Watch this space for future dog petting rooms!