PAW PAW, Mich. — A local school district has implemented therapy dogs into all of their buildings, offering a helping paw to staff and students of all ages.
Paw Paw Public Schools (PPPS) started the Animal-Assisted Services Program in the Early Elementary School three years ago, following the pandemic.
It has since grown, spanning across all buildings and made up of five therapy dogs.
Now, leaders say the program has reaped numerous benefits across a wide range of needs.
“Our kids are coming to us with more and more needs every year,” Superintendent Jeremy Davison said. “We are constantly trying to find ways to provide more supports for our students.”
Loki is a rescue dog, now serving as a nationally certified therapy dog for PPPS, along with Trixie.
“They help provide supports for the kids,” said Davison. “It might be for grief, it might be for trauma response for things that have happened in or outside the school, anxiety, we have students with behavioral issues.”
It was Katie Cole, animal assisted services coordinator, who got the ball rolling on the program, kickstarting it.
“It really just all had to do with my love of children and my love of animals. I’ve been a professional dog trainer for over 15 years and then I became a behavior specialist working at the Early Elementary,” Cole said. “I really saw the impact that dogs were having on children.”
The Animal-Assisted Services Program aims to offer support of all kinds, to students of all ages.
Through interactive games, classroom visits, and one-on-one time, Loki and Trixie meet social-emotional, behavioral, and academic needs.
“The effects of the dogs and animals are the same, whether you’re two years old, or you’re 100 years old,” said Cole. “The nice thing with high schoolers is that normally by that age they can identify when they’re feeling anxious or upset, and so they can make that judgment call and actually say, ‘I need to go see a dog.'”
She continued, “The kids absolutely love it. It’s like the child who never wants to do math all of a sudden is begging to come play a game with the dog.”
So far, it appears to be working, according to Cole.
Loki and Trixie make a huge difference for the younger students on their first day of school.
“It is like a miracle how I can walk up with a dog and say, ‘Hey friend, Trixie’s gonna walk into school right now, would you like to walk with her?’” said Cole. “Immediately, those tears just stop, a big smile comes on their face, and they will take my hand or take the leash and walk into school with Trixie happily.”
Davison looks to continue growing the program, hoping to be a role model for other schools to one day begin their own.
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