(4 March 2018) Jasper, a rescued old English Sheepdog, helped current HKU students and staff experience a better academic life through a new pilot programme launched on December 11, 2017.
For six days, seventy-eight current students and staff of the University were able to book a thirty-minute session with Jasper, to play, enjoy his company, and learn about Jasper and animal welfare in Hong Kong. The sessions were held in a designated space in the Lui Che Woo Law Library and the Main Library of HKU.
Surveys conducted after each session showed positive results in support of the programme with combined Strongly Agree and Agree above the ninety percentiles in all categories.
They included:
- Jasper is Friendly
- Jasper welcomes interaction with me
- I enjoyed Jasper’s company
- I feel relaxed after the event
- I enjoy a general sense of well-being after the event
Written feedback complemented the responses of the survey with some suggestions including additional venues in the future.
Based on the strong support for the Therapy Dog Pilot Programme, the University of Hong Kong Libraries will continue the programme during the May 2018 assessment period with additional sessions throughout the semester.
Session announcements will be publicised to the HKU community through the Libraries Facebook page, website and campus e-channels.
Therapy Dog Session slideshow: https://youtu.be/faNLd6AhKUQ
HKU Libraries: http://lib.hku.hk
HKU Libraries Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hkulib/
For more information, please contact HKU Libraries, Public Relations & Development at 2859 2211 or email at [email protected].
The press release and photographs are here.
