There's no better feeling than having a clear mind with anything that causes you stress simply disappearing. Rowan University offers this experience to its students through an event called PAWS for a Break. Through this event, students can come to pet and play with five different certified therapy dogs with the intention of having time for students to decompress from school.

The event is an hour long, and students can drop in at any time. The hosts of the event even advertise it as a time for students to "de-stress from their busy schedule." This event occurs bimonthly in either the Chamberlain Student Center, the Wellness Center, or in one of the residence halls.

One of the attendees, senior advertising major, Adam Bryant, has attended several times throughout his four years at Rowan.

"I use this event as an outlet to de-stress from the craziness of my life with school, my internship at Clearbridge Branding Agency, my job at Nexus, and being an active member of the wrestling club," Bryant said.

"When I was petting the dogs, I wasn't thinking about anything that I had on my plate. It was a moment for me to just chill out and just enjoy something simple in life for a change."

Right beside the therapy dogs sits their handlers who supervise their canines on a leash. The handlers come for free but enjoy what it does for the students. One of the handlers, Kathy Porch, brings her German shepherd mix, Beau, to this event.

Not only do the dogs make the students feel happy, but their handlers also brighten the students' day. Bryant said he enjoys talking to the handlers and making their day.

"It's great to connect with people like that, and it's really nice for them to come in and share their friends with us for an hour every month. It really adds positivity into your life and makes you feel like you won the day just by petting some dogs."

The event was initially run through the Wellness Center, but then, the Residential Learning and University Housing and the Residence Hall Association got involved as well. This enabled the program to expand to lounge areas in the residence halls, so the students didn't have to travel too far to pet a furry friend.

The Shreiber Family Pet Therapy Program provides therapy dogs for the stress-free event. Their program consists of having at least five certified therapy dogs available Monday through Friday on campus.

So, if you're around on campus, take a minute to go and visit these dogs and their handlers! It will 100% make your day better and help you forget about your worries for an hour.