By Aaron Soliz, Clarion Staff

The Dog Lovers Club was scheduled to bring out dogs on Friday, January 20th after school in front of the auditorium. The club had the intention of relieving students of their stress, right before finals and the end of the first semester. Dogs are known to positively impact humans by raising the levels of oxytocin, one of the hormones responsible for decreasing stress, in the bloodstream. Other benefits that can come from being around dogs include a decrease in blood pressure as well as a contagious feeling of relief and joy. By interacting with dogs, students can calm their nerves just in time for stress inducing finals. Unfortunately, the dogs were nowhere to be found, likely due to unfavorable weather conditions.

The absence of the dogs did not go unnoticed by the other students. The students were, for the most part, understanding of the situation. Junior student Makenzie Cross commented, “I was ready to be stress free but I understand why they couldn’t come so I was okay. Plus I have a dog at home.” Another student, Wing Cheng, remarked, “I was disappointed the dogs didn’t show up because I went last year and it really helped me distress but I understand that it would have been inconvenient to have the owners bring the dogs in the rain.” Some, however, were not so saddened. “I’m allergic to dogs, so it doesn’t affect me,” Lauren Cortez told The Clarion.

Labrador retriever in rain is waiting under umbrella.