An Altadena school that burned down in the Eaton Fire is bringing comfort dogs to help students adjust to a new normal two months after the fire.
Jennifer Foley Tolbert, the head of school, said the dogs raised the kids’ spirits.
“It’s such a joy today to have these therapy dogs on campus, you know, to see the hope and to see the bright light that it brings to the kids’ faces,” she said.
Students at Saint Mark’s School have relocated to the EF Academy, a private boarding school for high school students in Pasadena. Saint Marks is preschool through sixth grade and is using some of the space on the campus.
Monica Gillespe, who works at North County San Diego Love on a Leash, helped more than a dozen therapy dogs and their owners travel from San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles to the school.
“You right away see their body language change,” Gillespe said. “A smile, how can you not smile when a dog comes in? And then you actually experience an emotional relief when you’re petting the dogs.”
About 240 children were forced to relocate as a result of the fire.
Adrian, a sixth grader, was glad to see his classmates again.
“Very nice yeah,” he said. “Yeah, it was kind of worrying not to see them so much.”
Another sixth grader, Gianna, lost her home in the fire and is now staying in La Crescenta.
“To see the kids each day, their resilience, their joy, it just empowers all of us to keep going,” said Foley Tolbert.
Foley Tolbert also lost her home, which was located across the street from the school.
“It was devastating because not only did I come to know that we had lost our school campus but also my home,” she said.
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