---
title: "Psych News Alert: Follow Your Doctor's Orders...And Pet Your Pooch"
description: Never underestimate the power of puppies, or other four-legged friends, to make two-legged, stressed out animals relax. The Washington Post ...
image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_66327463-Jun-24-2025-07-20-53-5843-PM.jpg
---

 12/2/11 12:00 AM

# Follow Your Doctor's Orders...And Pet Your Pooch

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert)

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Never underestimate the power of puppies, or other four-legged friends, to make two-legged, stressed out animals relax. *The Washington Post* reports today that George Mason University School of Law­ in Arlington, Va.,—following an example set by the Yale Law Library—has instituted a “Pooch Party” during exam time, allowing students to cuddle with puppies as a way to relieve stress during a period when, as one student says, “law school can ruin your life.”

The concept is not new, however. Dogs, horses, and other animals have long been used as an adjunct to therapy for people with mental illness. Read about this topic in *Psychiatric News* [here ](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=115837)and [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=105548).   

(Image: Copyright blanche/shutterstock.com)

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![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 

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[ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/09/judge-blocks-florida-law-restricting.html)

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