On Feb. 2, dogs and dozens of UConn students came together to participate in Miracle Cup Dog Yoga. The event was hosted by HuskyThon and Canine Companions, two organizations at UConn. The three dogs who took part in the event were Gunther, Nidu and Officer Jazmine. Officer Jazmine is one of UConn’s astonishing police dogs, and Gunther and Nidu are from Canine Companions.
What better way to end a stressful day of classes than to do some yoga with puppies?
As students flooded the Student Union Ballroom floor with their yoga mats and towels, the three dogs walked around the ballroom, saying “hi” to everyone who came to do some yoga with them. Dog yoga participants had the opportunity to meet the dogs and share some puppy love with them.
Once the event began, participants remained on their mats and towels, performing yoga moves such as the table pose, the rabbit pose and the cobra pose. As the participants performed yoga, the dogs weaved their way around the participants, greeting them and allowing them to stroke their soft fur. Not only did the dogs constantly walk around the participants, but the participants performed yoga moves with dog-related names, such as downward dog and the 3-dog pose.
Miracle Cup Dog Yoga was an uplifting experience for all who came and participated, according to Abby Harding, an eighth-semester Honors student at UConn.
“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “It makes yoga more fun when there’s dogs around.”
Eighth-semester student Brianna Ashton, who studies speech, language and hearing sciences, declared the event was a nifty experience.
“I thought it was really fun,” she said. “I think it’s a great way to get people to come to stuff.”
Laura Solomon, a sixth-semester Elementary Education student, said that she liked “that there were so many people who came,” adding on that “it made it more fun with a big group of people because you’re having fun with the dogs but also just with everyone.”
Reilly Hazard, a sixth-semester Actuarial Science student and the vice president of Canine Companions, said that the event was an exceptional experience for the dogs who took part in making the yoga experience a “doga” experience.
“They have a great time getting to meet a whole bunch of different people and spend time with the UConn community,” she said.
Miracle Cup Dog Yoga event was a tremendous way to promote community within the UConn campus. Not only were the students who took part in the event able to connect with one another, but the dogs also got to meet tons of new people and form early connections with them.
Miracle Cup Dog Yoga was not the last time that UConn students will be able to see Gunther, Nidu and Officer Jazmine. Officer Jazmine tends to appear in numerous places here and there, so students will have plenty of chances to see her. And to further connect with Gunther and Nidu, students can join Canine Companions, where training sessions, games and many other opportunities are offered for the members of the organization to interact with the puppies and form connections with them.