Students gathered in Founder’s Park Friday morning to de-stress from midterms with therapy and rescue dogs from the Los Angeles area. They pet puppies, got their photos taken with furry celebrities and learned about adoption and fostering opportunities in L.A. 

The event was hosted by the Humane Society of USC, which was founded last semester by Skyler Nahouray, the club’s president and a sophomore majoring in health promotion and disease prevention studies, and Andrew Bui, the club’s vice president and a sophomore majoring in health promotion and disease prevention studies. Bui said the pair had been working towards this event for over a year and were very satisfied with the results. 

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“[Nahouray and I] talked about [founding the Humane Society of USC] first semester of freshman year, but second semester of freshman year was where everything really came into fruition,” Bui said. “We’ve been planning [this event] for months, so we’re just super happy to see it come together.”

Neha Vontela, the outreach coordinator for the Humane Society of USC and a sophomore majoring in economics and data science, said the event was intended to help students relax and briefly forget the pressure of midterms. 

“Since a lot of students are stressed and busy with midterms, we thought it’d be fun to bring some different therapy dogs and dogs from different shelters, just so students who are walking to and from classes can hang out with them and de-stress,” Vontela said. 

Nahouray said he wanted to bring students the same sense of calm that his two dogs back home give him. 

“I have two dogs in the house, love them … when I need a break from school, they’re my way to go. They always provide me with a sense of output and a sense of relief,” Nahouray said. “Studies actually show that when petting and interacting with animals, humans can decrease their stress hormones: That’s the goal today.”

To organize the event, The Humane Society of USC reached out to various shelters and local organizations, including LA Animal Services, Alliance of Therapy Dogs and LAX Pups. In total, around 15 dogs attended, the majority of whom were energetic and friendly golden retrievers. 

However, the true stars were Summit and Finn, ten-week-old black labrador puppies from Rover’s Retreat Dog Rescue who were the only two from their litter still waiting to be adopted. Students gathered around their pen to socialize with the puppies and learn about different organizations for animal well-being. 

The event also featured a photo station where students could be photographed against a backdrop donned with paw prints and the USC logo. Various celebrity dogs were available for photos, including Murphy from LAX Pups and Apple from @apple_thegolden on Instagram. There were also various tables set up where students could learn about fostering, adopting and how to better communicate with their pets.

Ellie Bridges Greenfield, the fundraising chair for the Humane Society of USC and a junior majoring in environmental studies, said the event also served to raise awareness and support for adopting animals from shelters and rescues. L.A. shelters are overcrowded, understaffed and having to handle a 30% increase in dogs compared to last year, according to an informational packet handed out to the media. 

“The intention is to bring awareness about adoption, and we have people here talking about different services that you could do for animals, like spaying and neutering, and why it’s important to adopt instead of breed,” Greenfield said. 

Greenfield also said the event served to demonstrate the impact students can have on the welfare of animals, and how they can give back to animals who have helped them through their midterms.

“Animals can help us so we can help animals … so let’s give back, let’s support them, let’s give these animals what they deserve,” Greenfield said. “I know at USC … we don’t have an opportunity to reach out to shelters and volunteer as much as we’d like. So this is showing [making a difference is] possible, it’s doable, and we’re here as a humane society of USC to make that happen.”