Cocoa and Cuddles with SPCA Puppies
The SPCA and PVCC Student Government Association (SGA) drew in many students and faculty alike with puppies, warm heated blankets, winter beverages, and vibes on Dec. 10, 2025. Located on the East Patio, the vibes were assisted by the hay bale seating in a ring around the puppies for greatest interaction, brightly lit string lights, and practical hand warmers and blankets. Many also warmed their hands on warm apple cider and hot cocoa, which they got from stations in the Main Building Event Space, along with marshmallows, candy canes, and other snacks available to attendees.
Also inside the Main building was the card-making station to give cards to the puppies, professors, or whoever you wanted to thank this season. The location for this event allowed many students and faculty to say hello to the puppies and grab a festive and warm drink on their way to class, after signing a short waiver in order to make contact with the puppies, of course.
The puppies visiting from the SPCA, Thankful and Pilgrim, collected cuddles from students and faculty in a large playpen on the patio. The puppies were four months old, fully adoptable, and were visiting from the SPCA. Cuddlers and students, usually two or three at a time, could go into the playpen and sit down to puppy eye level to play with the puppies with the toys SPCA brought for Thankful and Pilgrim. While engaging with Thankful and Pilgrim in this playpen, students could learn about their distinct personalities. Thankful was very playful, full of energy, photogenic, outgoing, and had more white in his markings than Pilgrim. Pilgrim was also energetic and playful, but was the more camera-shy of the two and was slightly more interested in cuddling than Thankful. The SPCA’s best guess at the breeds for these bundles of energy was Jack-Russel and Collie mix.
The person who brought them from the SPCA, Lauren Thomas, put it best how these puppies brought their good energy to campus and how it benefited everyone involved. “We’ve got really so many animals looking for a home for the holidays. We’re open from noon to six every day, a lot of puppies, a lot of kittens. We do events like this every so often just to help with the socialization of the animals and to bring other people joy, of course,” shared Thomas.
