WELCH \u2014 A McDowell County school will be the first in the state to participate in a new statewide program that will bring therapy dogs into classrooms.<\/p>\n
The program, called Friends With Paws, will place certified therapy dogs in schools across the state, providing companionship and comfort for students in need of a boost.<\/p>\n
The first therapy dog through Friends With Paws will be placed at Welch Elementary School in McDowell County. He is a male Black Labrador Retriever and his name is Coal.<\/p>\n
Friends With Paws will be a partnership between the Governor\u2019s Office, West Virginia Communities In Schools (CIS) Nonprofit and the West Virginia Department of Education.<\/p>\n
Therapy dogs will be placed in schools within CIS counties where students are disproportionately affected by poverty, substance misuse, or other at-risk situations, and are in the greatest need of a support animal. The dogs will serve as a healthy and friendly outlet for these students to address trauma and other social-emotional issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cFriends With Paws is going to give our kids the best gift of all: unconditional love,\u201d Gov. Jim Justice said. \u201cI love every single one of our kids in this state. I say all the time, our kids are the greatest treasure we have. But, unfortunately, some of our kids aren\u2019t loved to the magnitude that they deserve. Having therapy dogs in our classrooms is going to make a lot of kids\u2019 days brighter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you go into schools that have a therapy dog, it is an amazing feeling,\u201d First Lady Cathy Justice said. \u201cThey feel right at home, and it\u2019s incredibly uplifting for children who may be struggling or grieving in their lives. So this is a really wonderful program. I am so excited to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n
More dogs will be placed in other CIS schools across West Virginia throughout the year, including schools in Upshur, Lewis, and Pocahontas counties.<\/p>\n
Buckhannon Academy Elementary School in Upshur County will receive a male Golden Labradoodle named Foster.<\/p>\n
Lewis County High School in Lewis County will receive a female Yellow Labrador named Jasper.<\/p>\n
Green Bank Elementary-Middle School in Pocahontas County will receive a male Yellow Labrador named Jet.<\/p>\n
Friends With Paws also plans to place a therapy dog in Hardy County later this summer.<\/p>\n
The initial goal of the program is to place a total of at least 10 dogs in West Virginia schools in 2022.<\/p>\n
The Governor and First Lady were joined for today\u2019s ceremony by Executive Assistant to the First Lady Vicki Shannon and Special Assistant to the First Lady Katie Morris, who the First Lady announced will serve as the state\u2019s Dog Czar for the Friends With Paws program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very happy to be able to bring animals into our classrooms to provide social and emotional support that is so important for our students,\u201d Shannon said. \u201cOver the past two years, everyone has been through a lot, especially our children. We want to do everything we can to lift their spirits. With these dogs, our children will have access to unconditional love that may not otherwise be accessible. It\u2019s really terrific.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great day for several of our West Virginia schools that are set to receive a dog through Friends With Paws, and it wouldn\u2019t be possible without the support of our wonderful Governor and First Lady,\u201d Morris said. \u201cThere are so many good things that these dogs will bring. These therapy dogs, who are trained by people with a combined 50 years of experience, can help reduce anxiety in classrooms around the state and just be a friend for our students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Therapy dogs are specially trained to provide comfort and support to people in various tense environments. They can help people feel at ease, improve their mood, relieve anxiety, and remove social barriers. Therapy dogs are highly trained and certified to show their ability to work in stressful environments, ignore distractions, and provide therapy to people with diverse backgrounds and circumstances.<\/p>\n
The therapy dogs will belong to each individual school and will become part of the community.<\/p>\n
A 2019 study published by the National Institute of Health found that a dog\u2019s presence in the classroom promotes positive mood and provides significant anti-stress effects on the body.<\/p>\n
In addition, research shows that the simple act of petting animals releases an automatic relaxation response. Therapy animals lower anxiety and help people relax, provide comfort, reduce loneliness, and increase mental stimulation. They are also shown to lower blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health, reduce the amount of medications some people need, help control breathing in those with anxiety, and diminish overall physical pain, among other profound benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the most important things that these dogs can do for children is to help them read aloud, because some children may not be confident in their reading skills, but when they can sit down and read with a dog, it\u2019s been highly beneficial,\u201d Shannon said. \u201cSo we\u2019re thrilled, and we can\u2019t wait to celebrate the arrival of Coal very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m incredibly excited because anything and everything we can do to make life better for our kids, we need to be doing it,\u201d Gov. Jim Justice said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen it with Babydog, just how therapeutic dogs can be for us all. She loves everybody and she always makes everybody smile. She brings a lot of joy to people, and that\u2019s exactly what these dogs with Friends With Paws will bring to our kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most incredible thing about a dog is they never have a bad day,\u201d he continued. \u201cWhen these kids show up, these dogs will show them love like you can\u2019t imagine, and these kids will know it. That unconditional love is transcendent. It makes life better. It will make their performance in the classroom better. With all our kids have to deal with today \u2013 between the pressures of social media, the bullying, everything that\u2019s going on in their lives, plus some being hungry \u2013 anything we can do to make their days a little brighter, we need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n