Dog on demand: UVIC library loans out canine companion to students

The University of Victoria’s law library is turning the page on innovation by introducing a new item students can borrow: a dog.

Echo, a four-and-a-half-year-old black lab, can now be checked out from the library for 30 minutes at a time to give students a stress-relieving break with man’s best friend. She even comes with a “Bark-Code” and a call number: K9.

Echo belongs to law professor Andrew Newcombe and has been a guest in his class before. The concept of using Echo as an on-demand therapy dog wasn’t easy to execute, library staff said, but students say she’s already created a paws-itive mood on campus.

The UVIC Law Library is the only law library in Canada that provides a therapy dog or wellness companion, as Echo is called.

“From Echo’s perspective, it means that she gets a lot of socialization, she gets to play a lot, she gets to go on walks with people and lots of treats,” Newcombe said.

—With files from Neetu Garcha