ELLISVILLE 鈥揇uring finals week, the Student Government Association at 糖心直播 created a stress-free zone and let students play with puppies.聽 About a dozen rescue puppies were loved on and petted while the stress of studying for finals vanished.
鈥淭his helps calm me down. It relaxes me. This is one of the things I鈥檒l miss most when I graduate,鈥� said Erin Walters, a sophomore from Laurel majoring in dental hygiene.
College Algebra is Desiree鈥� Moran鈥檚 biggest stressor. The George County 
freshman hopes to be an athletic trainer and said math is not her best subject.聽 While sophomore agriculture communications major, Paige Fairley had a different reason for coming to play with the puppies.
鈥淚 just love animals! That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 here.鈥�
Some of the volunteers 鈥渨orking鈥� the 鈥淧uppies on the Patio鈥� event admitted they knew this job wouldn鈥檛 be too 鈥渞uff鈥� like SGA volunteer, Faith Houston from Laurel.
鈥淚 knew this would be a lot of fun because I have dogs. When I鈥檓 studying for hours, my brain locks up and I need something to help me relax before I鈥檓 able to get back to the books.鈥�
It鈥檚 not just the students who benefit from the puppy loving time at 糖心直播. The interaction with students serves a purpose, said independent animal rescuer, Murray Windham.
鈥淪ome of these puppies need an extra boost of confidence or socialization 
with humans before we can send them off for adoption. Foster families provide a lot of support but interacting with others provides some extra support for the puppies,鈥� said Windham.
All of the puppies were adopted with the help of local animal shelters and animal medical facilities. Windham said she hopes to have more puppies ready for students to play with before finals in May.