SALEM — Cris Cloyd, chief of staff for Rep. Jeff Reardon of Portland, said she came to the Capitol for work Monday morning feeling tired and stressed.

Holding a kitten melted the tension away for a few minutes, Cloyd said.

“It has a calming effect,” another staffer chimed in.

State lawmakers and their staffers lined up in the House of Representatives office suite to participate in the “Snuggle Express” Monday, June 26, at the Capitol.

The Oregon Humane Society brought in puppies and kittens for legislators and staff members to snuggle during the lunch hour.

“This is just so exciting,” said Naomi Zhao, an intern in Rep. Ann Lininger’s office, as she waited in a line that wrapped around a wall into a hallway, to hold a puppy.

When volunteers with the humane society arrived with the animals in pet carriers, people in line gasped with delight.

“This is my favorite event of the entire session,” another staff member gushed.

Rep. Janelle Bynum, a freshman lawmaker from Clackamas, organized the event after she noticed tension mounting in the waning two weeks of this year’s legislative session.

Lawmakers are squabbling over new taxes and the components of a transportation package, and emotions can rise and sink with the fate of each bill in front of them.

“One of the things I noticed is when we have school children (in the House chamber), the dynamic changes,” Bynum said.

She mentioned her observation to Mandi McGowan, administrative assistant in the Chief Clerk’s Office, and suggested bringing babies into the Capitol to calm legislators.

McGowan told Bynum that the Oregon Humane Society sometimes brings cats and dogs into workplaces during the stressful Christmas season and pitched the idea of doing the same at the statehouse.

“Who doesn’t love puppies and kittens?” McGowan said. “A lot of people get cocktails after work to relieve stress.”

Holding a puppy or kitten can provide the same soothing effect, she said.

“And hopefully, the animals find homes. Everyone benefits,” she said.

Bynum said she knew people at the Capitol needed stress relief, but she was surprised there was “a lineup like a rock concert” for the event.

The Oregon Humane Society provided the event for free at the Capitol. The program costs businesses a $1,000 donation fee during the Christmas season, but off-season the organization will provide the service without the fee in certain cases, sad David Lytle, a spokesman for the humane society. Participants were asked to give a donation to help homeless animals during Monday’s event. A final tally of how much was raised for the organization was unavailable Monday afternoon, Lytle said.

Many animals find their new homes during the Snuggle Express, he said. The humane society maintains a web site with photos of all of the pets available for adoption.

Buzz about the event spread to the Senate wing of the Capitol, where at least one senator and his staff member expressed jealousy that the Senate wasn’t invited, Bynum said.

“It’s all in good fun,” Bynum said. “We have some big decisions to make before the end of the session.”

Paris Achen

Portland Tribune Capital Bureau

503-385-4899

email: pachen@portlandtribune.com

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