Doggone that stress
Students have returned, school is back in session, and Harvard has officially reawakened. But accompanying that shift are the latent worries and stresses of thousands of faculty and staff members who keep the University up and running. Suddenly, relaxed afternoons are as scarce as summery sunshine. Of course, you wouldn’t know that to enter the Countway Library of Medicine. There, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, a welcome dose of tension diffusion comes in the form of a 10-pound ball of fluff named Cooper. Since his addition four months ago, the 4-year-old Shih Tzu, a registered therapy dog, has proved as cuddly and irresistible to the Longwood Medical Area staff and students as a teddy bear to a toddler. “The whole first part of his morning is staff coming in and stopping by to pet him,” said Joshua Parker, an access services librarian, who along with other staffers makes sure Cooper stays in his penned-in...