A ‘Dog-Gone’ Good Time At TU

Press release from Towson University:

By Kyle Hobstetter on September 29, 2020

The Counseling Center's Yappy Hour allows the TU Community to share their pets through
a special Zoom meeting.

The Towson University Counseling Center and the TU Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Abuse Prevention Center will host a weekly Zoom Yappy Hour, a fun—and furry—way for students, faculty and
staff to relax and unwind with pets.

Yappy Hour will take place every Thursday at 4 p.m., starting Oct. 1 through Zoom.

Jaclyn Webber, the Counseling Center’s drug and alcohol health educator who happily
admits her dog is her best friend, came up with the idea after seeing other colleges
and universities around the country have success with similar events.

“With all of us being at home, we're having a lot of a different experiences and relying
on our animals for support with what we're going through,” Webber says. "So we want
to provide a community for people to come together, talk about their pets and see
them online, interact, share and build community.

“We want this space to be recurring, so people can come every week if they choose
to. They can keep getting to know people across campus but also just have a designated
time to relax with animals.”

TU’s Yappy Hour stands out from the rest because you don’t need a pet to join in on
the fun. The event is open to everyone in the TU community.

She says it was planned on Thursdays specifically to give students an alternative
to heading out on the town.

“This is an example of the alternative programming we offer, for students to do something
aside from going to happy hour—which they kind of can't do right now,” Webber laughs.

As many students are isolating, physical distancing and quarantining because of COVID-19,
Webber says many are also struggling to connect to a community.

She believes it’s a top priority for TU to build connections for students when they
are not able to do it in person.

“This is a unique opportunity: We really can't do this when we're on campus because
students don't have their pets at school,” Webber says. “I have students that I work
with who tell me that ‘the only good thing about being at my parents’ house is that
I can be with my dog, cat, lizard, hamster, etc.’

“What better way to build a connection with each other than showing off our pets?”

For more information about the Counseling Center, check out their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.

This press release was produced by Towson University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.