Therapy dog program looks to expand in schools across Cincinnati after success in Milford
We are getting a better idea of how a push to put therapy dogs in local schools is making an impact.
바카라게임 spent the day inside Pattison Elementary School in Milford to see just how effective these dogs can be.
As soon as therapy dogs Buddy, Kara and Tuck lay down next to Pattison Elementary students, they are a breath of fresh air.
"It's usually like I'm finding a mythical creature," Pattison's Lincoln Smith said.
"When I'm upset, they cheer you up and they're just so nice to you," Pattison's Kalony Bronaugh said.
They are a calming presence and companions who know how to make any day much better.
"Whenever I see them around the hallways, just makes me, like, not as scared," Pattison's Cadence Schlak said.
"It's like a vacuum that sucks up my badness," Smith said.
The dogs have been a fixture in the Milford School District since the pandemic and play an important role in improving students' mental health.
"We are using every tool in our toolbox, including the skills provided by these special dogs, to help them develop the emotional intelligence they need to be successful in the world," school psychologist Jennifer O'Brien said.
O'Brien has seen the impact firsthand.
"Just having a dog that can come in and kind of read their verbal, their nonverbal cues, makes a huge, huge difference," O'Brien said.
We met just three of the district's nine dogs trained by the nonprofit Circle Tail.
"Seeing the dogs help them turn around, think positively, achieve tasks that they couldn't do without the dogs. Truly makes me feel good," Circle Tail Director of Operations Marlys Staley said.
The school hasn't looked back once these dogs became a part of Pattison.
"It's like having another friend here at school. And so we definitely see the benefits every day," Superintendent John Spieser said.
They have been a key part of lessons you cannot find in a textbook.
"You go to the dogs, and they pretty much just take all your problems away," Bronaugh said.
Many studies, including one from the National Institutes of Health, say therapy dogs in schools can significantly enhance a child's well-being.
Circle Tail is looking to move into more districts across Greater Cincinnati and hopes the success in Milford will serve as a positive example.