Cuddle the stress away on Animal Day

By Anastasia Coulson-Gagnon

Skedline.com

The fourth and last Animal Day of 2018, hosted by Humber IGNITE, is set to take place at Humber Lakeshore on Tuesday November 27^th. The free activity helps students relieve stress and have a moment to relax with a large variety of animals.

“The stress relief depends on the individual person because some people aren’t interested in snakes and lizards but other people are. It’s definitely a personal thing,” says Sandra Whittaker of Pawsitively Pets, the organization that provides the animals.

“Rabbits are great, a lot of people gravitate to these animals,” Whittaker said. “There’s also a fascination with the birds because they mimic us and say words and make sounds.”

Vice-President for IGNITE Humber Lakeshore, Graham Budgeon, spoke on the event’s purpose. “The idea was initially brainstormed by IGNITE’s events team as a mental wellness event,” Budgeon said. “I think it’s a great activity to relieve stress and enjoy companionship throughout this busy time.”

“We know that school can get stressful this time of year, so we’ve called on some furry friends to make your life a little bit more enjoyable,” IGNITE’S Animal Day event page states. “You can expect to see a variety of animals such as chinchillas, parrots, and even lemurs.”

“This is, I think, our third year and this has been our most consistently planned event,” Whittaker said. “We have come in on so many other occasions over the past three years.”

In regards to which animals are expected to appear on Tuesday, you will have to attend the event to find out. “We have 30 different types of animals and are keeping track of the animals that have already been presented at your school,” Whittaker said. “We won’t know until Tuesday morning what animals we will be bringing in.”

Make sure to check out the event on Tuesday November 27^th. The event is located in A building’s Blue Room (A170) and runs from 10am-2pm.