Parents everywhere are preparing to welcome their college students back home for a well-deserved Christmas break. But before these kids steer their laundry-laden cars back home to celebrate the holidays with Mom, Dad, and the rest of the family, those students must survive the grueling madness of finals week.

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At schools such as the University of South Florida and others, the administration is taking steps to ensure that those in their charge are not subjected to too much stress. So for students upset at the prospect of having to prove they actually learned something this fall, the school is providing a remedy.

Enter therapy llamas.

The pack animals made their appearance on the USF campus at the end of November. The “Paws and Relax” petting zoo-type event is sponsored by the school’s Center for Student Well-Being, as an article in Campus Reform notes. The Paws and Relax program is an ongoing effort at USF, and other animals that have been made available to students for their comfort and reassurance include certified therapy dogs.

Other animals that have been made available to students for their comfort and reassurance are certified therapy dogs.

In case the option of fluffy animal petting was not enough to entice students to participate, the website announced that “peer educators from REACH will also be handing out prizes and additional tips to help you manage your stress.” REACH, for Responsible Education and Action for Campus Health, is a student-run organization that promotes “holisitic wellness.”

Student response to the presence of the rascally ruminants was mixed. One student took to Twitter to seize the opportunity for recruitment purposes, while another remarked, “Finals are in a few days and I haven’t had a mental breakdown yet … I must be doing something wrong.”

Related: College Kids: Time to Get Real About How to Succeed

Final exams are stressful, as is life outside the college ivory tower. But with the exception of a select few employers, therapy animals are not part of the everyday benefits package at work these days. When the date arrives for an employee to deliver a presentation to the boss or make a pitch to the firm’s best client, there will be no llamas to comfort the grownups.

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For the llama-intolerant, USF Wellness offered an alternative stress-relieving device for finals week. At “The Fit,” a campus health and recreation facility, students can take a spin in a nap pod in the “Quiet Zone.” The school thoughtfully recommends that students set an alarm and limit naps to about 20 minutes — to avoid disrupting their normal sleep schedules and likely to give the next needy student a turn. Sharing is caring, right?

Michele Blood is a freelance writer based in Flemington, New Jersey.