Earlier this month, a team of volunteers from Animals Asia took their dogs to City University of Hong Kong (CityU) to meet with students, as “Professor Paws”. Since 2015, the Student Development Services (SDS) of CityU has organised the event regularly to encourage students to take a break from their busy academic schedule, interact with the dogs to relieve stress, and learn to be kind to animals.

The event attracted about 100 CityU students. One student said, “Dogs are simple and adorable. They are the best friends of human beings, and you can leave your worries behind when you interact with them.” A non-local student said, “I always miss my pet back home, so this was a wonderful opportunity to pet the dogs and take photos with them in Hong Kong”.

Ms Karina O'Carroll, Animal Welfare Education Manager of Animals Asia, explained that the dogs participating in the “Professor Paws” programme are registered therapy dogs, which have visited hospitals and residential care homes for the elderly in the past in the capacity of “Doctor Dogs”. “As there are more people on the university campus than in the care homes, the dogs that passed the test to become “Professor Paws” know how to get along with a crowd. Through the volunteers’ sharing of their experience in caring for the dogs, we hope that students will be more concerned about animal rights,” she added. 

Dr Ng Ching Wah Larry, Director of SDS of CityU, said, “Four “Professor Paws” joined this visit; and all of them are very friendly and calm. The oldest one is 15 years old, but it still goes out on a regular basis to bring warmth to people, which is in fact a valuable lesson on life education for CityU students.”

CityU is the first university in Hong Kong to introduce veterinary medicine and practice the pioneering concept of One Health, recognising the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. CityU has collaborated with Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, US, since 2009 and established Hong Kong’s first six-year Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM) programme in 2017. The BVM programme received dual accreditation from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in the UK and the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council last month. No other Asian BVM programme has been accredited by two of the world’s major regulatory bodies for veterinary education.

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