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Therapy animals help ASU students relax before finals

The cutest way to de-stress!

TEMPE, Ariz.- With finals just around the corner, Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University held its ninth annual Rest and Relax event.

“It's something we created because we knew students are stressed out this time of year. Need some sort of way to relax to get into the right mind set for finals,” said Dawn Rendell, assistant dean of students for Barrett.

The event included food, games, manicures and chair massages. The big draw were the therapy animals from Sun Devil Paws Therapy which included three dogs and Roger the cat.

“You just kind of get a chance to relax. A chance to pet the dogs. They're just so friendly and they lick your face. All your worries just disappear right away," Barrett junior Alyssa Santa Cruz said. "It's a great time to, you know, wind down before going to take all your stressful finals."

A nice distraction to give ASU students a chance to decompress.

“Helps me clear my mind a little bit. It helps me understand a little bit more of the thought process behind my studying for finals," Santa Cruz said. "When you get to step away from that environment. It’s a little more casual and a little more relaxing environment."

Rendell says the honors college holds other events like Rest and Relax throughout the school year.

“To make sure they are taking care of themselves mentally because if you are not in a good place mentally, taking finals can be really hard to do," Rendell said. "They remember not to study all the time and burn themselves out. Take some time for themselves."

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