Pups help take a bite out of stress, depression for UG students

A student plays with Muffin (at right) while two other puppies (to the left) seem unamused by the happy students seeking their attention.

In 2016, Ashley Khalil, was diagnosed with depression and she admits that she had a hard time coping.

“…If anyone knows about depression, you feel like you are having a bad day. You have no self-esteem. My energy levels were low. Food, it was not appetising. I just wanted to be alone,” Khalil recalled last week.

The current reigning national squash champion and also a badminton player, Khalil says that at the time she even “lost interest” in playing both sports. “I stopped playing completely. Also, I had trouble sleeping, and I was put on medication to help me sleep, and when I was diagnosed with depression, I was put on anti-depressants,” she added. Things started to change for Khalil, however, when ‘Trixi’ entered her life. “In 2017, I got a new puppy, and I named her ‘Trixi’. She was a lot to handle, but she was extremely loving, and brought new meaning to my life. She always seemed to know when you are having a bad day, and would come to sit beside you. The amount of kisses she gives, the positions she sleeps in, her facial expressions, and when I am driving, the way she crawls up and sits between my neck and the headrest as though she has to look at the road while I am driving. She is my very own co-pilot”, Khalil said, smiling as she recalls the moments.