Therapy Dog Brings Stressed College Student To Tears

Cooper the German shepherd, a trained therapy dog, recently visited the University of Connecticut to help students stay calm during their exam period.

And one sophomore physiology and neurobiology major, Kelsey Anderson, was particularly moved by the his presence in the library's lobby.

"I don't know why, because I'm not much of a crier, but I just started sobbing," Anderson told The Dodo. "Then the dog came right over to me and started licking my face. I wrapped my arms around him, and it was a very nice moment."

A video posted to Facebook shows Anderson's tearful interaction with Cooper.

"I had my anthropology final earlier," Anderson explained. "I had gotten out of that, and I went to the library to last-minute-study for orgo," a nickname for the notoriously treacherous college course known as organic chemistry. Her grade in the course weighed heavily on this one cumulative exam, she added, and she was feeling the stress.

Olivia Blackburn

That's when Anderson's friend, Olivia Blackburn, stopped by to comfort her. On their way out of the library, they walked downstairs through the main lobby, and that's where they met Cooper.

Olivia Blackburn

"It was so comforting to be around a dog," Anderson said, though she noted she couldn't spend much time with him as she had more studying to do. "Everyone was smiling, and it was just helpful to get outside of the quiet study room and go and have an interaction with a living thing."

While Anderson's working on completing her exams, the University of Connecticut will continue to bring in more therapy dogs, three per day, with each one working a one-hour shift.

As the video above shows, they all have a very important job to do.

Check out this mini therapy horse who's small enough to walk straight into hospitals below.