Humber Student Federation welcomed new and returning students with animals most of them hadn’t seen. Students stood in line to have a lemur, who goes by the name King Julien, sit on their shoulder as a kangaroo hopped around freely. Tropical birds perched on fingers and a slow moving turtle ate his vegetables by the window.
Animal Day usually happens around exam time, but the Humber Student Federation, being animal lovers themselves, decided to kick off the school year stress-free! Back to school frowns were replaced with smiles as students gather around to see each animal.
The event was held in the Humber Student Federation Building. Students took a break from their laptops and walked into a room meant just for them. No classrooms. No teachers. Only students. And some furry visitors for the day.
Dylan Rudder, Vice-President of HSF student life said, “We’ve partnered with Pawsitively Pets for two years. It is a stress relieving event and we wanted to have it more often this year, as students we have stress other than at exam time. It has definitely calmed down back to school nerves as students get familiar with HSF and come to events.”
The mini petting zoo contained animals who had been rescued and taken care of by Pawsitively Pets. Other colleges bring in cats and dogs, but Humber College was unique and introduced animals from all around the world.
Seth Falk, Animal Trainer and owner of the zoo, says, “I take care of domestic and wild animals who have been hurt or abused and train them to be around people. It’s a positive experience for the students as well as the animals, both have fun.”
Animal Day was a new way to bring students together at the beginning of the school year. School is stressful with deadlines, schedules, and finances. These furry friendly faces were definitely a stress-reliever for the day!
