A lecturer at Glasgow University done her bit to help bring some much-needed cheer to students who have had to self-isolate due to a recent coronavirus outbreak - by organising a 'wee Glesga dog parade' at their halls of residence.
Jess Enright, a lecturer in Computing Science, decided to organise the small-scale event after jokingly mentioning it in a group chat with some of her new students, many of whom had found themselves confined to their rooms at the halls on Murano Street in the north of the city for two weeks.
And as well as bring along her own gorgeous greyhound Daisy, she even roped in the support of her husband, who dressed up as a dalmatian for the occasion to add an extra touch of humour.
Speaking to Glasgow Live, Jess said: "We did a parade on Sunday the week before last and then again on Friday. It was really tiny, we made a sign that said 'Tiny Dog Parade' and brought some balloons with us. It was pretty cool. I think a lot of people were puzzled by it, it was very spur of the moment.
"It was just a thing that me and a colleague thought of knowing that some of our students were self-isolating. I was chatting with some of our undergraduates online and it sort of came up as an idea and I sort of threw it out on Twitter to parade some dogs around.
"I would find that quite cheerful if I was stuck indoors".
Doing the dog parade offered Jess a chance to meet some of her first-year students for the first time, albeit from a distance, as well as just give her the chance to do something positive amid everything that's going on at the minute.
"Like most schools we have students who are isolating but especially freshers. The autumn is always an exciting time of year with a lot of energy and the students are excitement among those who are just starting university so it was really nice to meet them and wave at them even at a distance.
"For me it was just a matter of doing a small thing that a couple of people enjoyed. It was just nice to be doing something that is cheerful just in general because there's not a lot of that going on".
And as for doing a follow-up parade, Jess isn't sure there will be sufficient interest if by then the students will have completed their stint in isolation - not that it would stop her from doing it again.
"We don't have another parade organised yet. If the students all have better things to do I'm happy about that as well. I have to walk the dog anyway," Jess said.
Tell you what, we'd love to have a parade of dogs go by our windows if we were self-isolating!
