Wednesday, 26 June 2013
The power of pets drove away all thoughts of final assignments and exams for students during the last week of semester.
A new Guild Club, UWA PAW ( People for Animal Welfare) put on a ‘de-stressing' event on the Oak Lawn with kittens, cats, dogs, a Guide Dog puppy, a therapy dog and even UWA's resident pig for students to pat and pet.
About 500 students dived into the furry friends for therapeutic cuddles. Law student Shakira Johnson-Scott, founder of PAW, said the club wanted to raise awareness of and educate students about animal welfare issues locally and globally.
"We also promote the great work being done by community organisations such as Cat Haven, SAFE (Save Animals from Euthanasia), Greyhounds as Pets, and Guide DogsWA," she said.
The club put on a vegetarian barbecue, collected old mobile phones for Gorilla Conservation in Africa, raised $250 for community animal organisations and filled a petition to ask Guild outlets to use only free-range eggs.
"A lot of students don't have pets at home, so this was just great for them" Shakira said. "Some of them have even signed up to be animal foster carers."
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