It is all about puppy love Friday afternoons at UBC Okanagan when some special pooches arrive.

乌鸦传媒淚t is like the greatest thing in the world,乌鸦传媒� said one smiling student as he stroked one of 17 therapy dogs hanging out on campus for the weekly B.A.R.K. drop-in labs.

乌鸦传媒淏.A.R.K. Stands for Building Academic Retention through K9s and it a program here on campus to support the social and emotional well being of students, primarily around stress reduction and home sickness,乌鸦传媒� explained B.A.R.K. director Dr. John-Tyler Binfet.

乌鸦传媒淭he dogs do work people can乌鸦传媒檛. You can乌鸦传媒檛 replace dogs with people and get the same affective emotional reaction, so our job is to just create a sense of community in the lab for people where they feel cared about, and the dogs help us do this.乌鸦传媒�

For Binfet, this whole program is almost paradoxical as he has a fear of dogs, but personally witnessed the soothing impact they could have once he connected with his own rescue pooch.

乌鸦传媒淚 would go across campus to get coffee and I would be besieged by students who would barely look at me and start interacting with the dog. Eventually, they would look up with these tear-filled eyes and they乌鸦传媒檇 say 乌鸦传媒榊ou know as much as I miss my parents, I miss my dog more乌鸦传媒� and I thought, OK, there is a need here to develop a program to provide access to therapy dogs.乌鸦传媒�

Several dozen students joined in the most recent therapy dog lab on Friday with big smiles on their face.

乌鸦传媒淚 love it so much 乌鸦传媒� why have I not come before?乌鸦传媒� said one student.

乌鸦传媒淚t really helps,乌鸦传媒� said another.

乌鸦传媒淚t is a really nice stress relief,乌鸦传媒� said one more. 乌鸦传媒淚t is relaxing.乌鸦传媒�

B.A.R.K. now boasts 70 volunteers, 45 therapy dogs and is used by 30 per cent of the student population.

乌鸦传媒淚t is a way I can give back in helping students get that puppy love again,乌鸦传媒� said B.A.R.K. dog handler Heidi Maddess. 乌鸦传媒淪he (her pup) is doing awesome, she loves it. She feels so special when she puts on her vest and comes to work.乌鸦传媒�

A sentiment shared by another dog handler.

乌鸦传媒淵ou can just see that Oscar absolutely loves it,乌鸦传媒� said B.A.R.K. Dog handler Michael Bandyo. 乌鸦传媒淎s soon as he puts the vest on, he takes it as a job. The kids come and they pet him and they call him by name and I think he is a bit of a celebrity on campus now!乌鸦传媒�

While student welfare is key for the program, Binfet ensures the dogs are enjoying themselves as well.

乌鸦传媒淚 look at dog stress. I want to ensure it is a good experience for the dogs, that their welfare is at the forefront too,乌鸦传媒� said Binfet. 乌鸦传媒淲e actually sent a dog home tonight who wasn乌鸦传媒檛 settling. My job is to ensure everyone is OK, including the student clients, the dog handlers and the dogs themselves.乌鸦传媒�

Binfet said he is also working to break the image that only golden retrievers can be therapy dogs as he works with a local rescue to provide dogs in all shapes, colours and sizes.

In fact, more than 60 per cent of the therapy dogs in the program are from Dog Rescue.

乌鸦传媒淧ure bred golden retrievers certainty can be great therapy dogs, but the mutt off the street or off a reserve or a second-hand dog can do wonderful therapeutic work,乌鸦传媒� said Binfet.

乌鸦传媒淭he people will come to the lab and they will go to the dog that reminds them the most of their childhood dog and that is tough to predict. So, we have a lot of diversity.

乌鸦传媒淚t is all about adopt don乌鸦传媒檛 shop.乌鸦传媒�

To learn more about the BARK program head to