If you walk down the halls here at school, you’ve probably seen a brown dog with a vest that reads “Therapy Dog” Darting down the Halls into Mr. Lead’s Classroom. Or you’ve seen a white dog that stays next to Mrs. Maxwell. These “random” dogs are Potosi High School’s therapy dogs.
You might be asking, “What are therapy dogs?” Therapy dogs are specially trained dogs, along with their handlers, to provide emotional, social, and behavioral support to students and staff. “Why do we have Therapy dogs?” Schools have therapy dogs to promote student and staff mental health and well-being by reducing stress, anxiety, and negative behaviors, while simultaneously boosting confidence, increasing academic engagement, and improving social skills.
I went to interview Potosi High school’s First Therapy dog, Waddie, but he was too distracted by Mr. Leeds holding out a treat for him, so instead I interviewed his handler, Mrs. Bernhardt. When asked why she thought he was a good choice for a therapy dog she responded, “He’s just a happy guy and he spreads [his happiness] like confetti…”
We also have a second therapy dog named Rogue. He is handled by Mrs. Maxwell and was originally a therapy dog at the middle school and the first in the district.
