University of Hong Kong now has a therapy dog to help relieve students of their exam stress

He has his own facilities access card.

Kayla Wong | December 14, 2017, 06:22 PM

Can't handle exam stress?

Meet Jasper, a therapy dog at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).

Students and staff at the university can book 30-minute sessions with Jasper during the exam period that started from last month, when the launch of the pilot programme was announced.

Participants can play with Jasper, talk to him, pet him and run their hands through his thick, luscious fur to destress and forget about their upcoming exams temporarily.

Screenshot via Youtube.

Giving back to the community

Jasper was adopted from a shelter in 2009 by Gary Chin, the HKU Libraries' public relations and development manager.

Despite being abandoned at a shelter, the English sheepdog was friendly when interacting with people, and made an instant connection with Chin and his wife, Cordelia Chan, who's also a staff member at the same university.

As Jasper is has an affable nature, the couple thought that it'd be good for Jasper to give back to the community.

Cordelia Chan, Chin’s wife and also a HKU staff member told South China Morning Post (SCMP) that it is easy to tell that Jasper cares for others.

“If he notices there is something wrong or that other dogs are not feeling well, he can sense this and will come over to check on you”

After passing a series of necessary tests and getting his certifications, Jasper became the university's newest employee — a resident therapy dog.

He even has his own facilities access card that he wears around his neck:

Screenshot via Youtube.

Image via Facebook.

Overwhelming response

Image via HKU website.

Jasper 's charm proved to be irresistible, and the programme was met with overwhelming response.

Over 160 applications were received, even though the programme was only meant to accommodate 36 people over 9 sessions for 3 days this month.

To meet the unexpectedly high demand, an additional 9 sessions were opened for 3 more days.

You can watch the video of Jasper at work below:

[video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://static.mothership.sg/1/2017/12/jasper-therapy-dog.mp4"][/video]

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Singapore has therapy dogs too

PEACE (People Ending Animal Cruelty and Exploitation), an interest group at the National University of Singapore (NUS), organises animal therapy sessions for students to destress before their exam period comes.

The sessions were also always oversubscribed, but applicants who failed to get a slot are offered a chance to volunteer instead.

There is also a number of non-profit organisations in Singapore that offers therapy sessions using dogs as healers.

Therapy Dogs Singapore (TDS) is a voluntary welfare organisation formed in 2004 that offers animal-assisted therapy which aims to bring joy to patients and help them to open up.

Pawsibility is also another organisation that offers such services which aim to use the "human animal bond" to touch lives.

Watch how their therapy dog, Telly, work with a special-needs child below:

Top image via Facebook.