HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Students at Huntington East Middle School have a new furry friend in the hallways of their school.
Bear is the 45th therapy dog to be placed in a West Virginia school as part of First Lady Cathy Justice’s “Friends with Paws” initiative.
Bear will serve as a healthy and friendly outlet for students dealing with everyday stressors.
“If a student is having a breakdown in the assistant principals office or in the counselors office, Bear comes in and he has specific commands to snuggle them or visit them which is to put his head in their lap and it really just calms them down to have him in their presence,” said Jessica Kuhn, education coach at Huntington East Middle School.
Bear, a 10 month-old Golden Retriever, was appropriately named for the school’s mascot, the Bears.
The Friends With Paws program is a partnership between the Governor’s Office, West Virginia Communities In Schools Nonprofit, and the West Virginia Department of Education.
Therapy dogs are placed in CIS program schools where students are disproportionately affected by poverty, substance misuse, or other at-risk situations, and are in the greatest need of a support animal.
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