“Take a Paws” at the Library! Visit With Therapy Dogs on Reading Day.

The library is excited to host a Take a Paws session on Reading Day. Thanks to the Center for Health and Wellness, therapy dogs will be in the library’s art gallery on Tuesday, December 15th, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Why have therapy dogs at the library? Studies have shown that interacting with animals can:pawslogo

  • improve our interpersonal interactions and mood
  • reduce cortisol (the “stress hormone”), heart rate and blood pressure
  • improve immune system functioning
  • reduce anxiety
  • enhance empathy
  • improve learning

It’s posited that human-animal interaction activates the oxytocin system, leading to these positive effects.*

Don’t just take our word for it, come and see for yourself.  Stop by the library Tuesday evening for your daily dose of dogs (and oxytocin)!

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* Beetz, A., Uvnäs-Moberg, K., Julius, H., & Kotrschal, K. (2012). Psychosocial and psychophysiological effects of human-animal interactions: The possible role of oxytocin. Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 234. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3408111/