Needs an RCT: Therapy Dogs for Law Students

Yale Law is trying out a new strategy to help students chill: renting out a dog. You can check out the dog for 30 minutes at the library.

It sounds like a good idea to me. But the librarian apparently thinks "It is well documented that visits from therapy dogs have resulted in increased happiness, calmness and overall emotional well-being." I was skeptical so I did a Google Search and found mixed evidence, mostly for specific types of patients, most with psychiatric disorders, none for college (or law) students, and all from medical journals.

I'm going to file this under "needs an RCT." Maybe, if the dog is oversubscribed during finals weeks, they can lottery access and test the theory.