Therapy Animals

Beginning school again after the pandemic was hard for almost everyone to do. If you were able to return in person, chances are you could probably feel that things had changed. Not everyone handled these changes well, especially not grade school children who may have left in one school level (middle school/junior high) and moved up to another since the pandemic (high school). What some schools across America have introduced as a tool to help with this transition are animal therapy programs and or the option to bring service animals to school.

Focusing on the latter option first, the idea comes from the fact that for months these students were able to work from the comfort bubbles of their homes. Some aren’t even used to choosing outfits for the day anymore let alone physically engaging with their peers. Bringing something or someone with you from home could be what’s necessary for reintegrating into the school system. What would be more comforting than a lovable pet? According to an article that discusses the emotional power of pets “Pets have provided relief while many students have been adjusting to suddenly learning from home”. The article then goes on to claim the number of pets in U.S. homes “surged during the first year of the pandemic”. These two statements support the idea that stripping students from pets, which have become major parts of their lives, could be detrimental.

Animal therapy programs are a bit different. The programs are usually geared to taking care of the social-emotional well-being of students. Students would be recommended for the  animal therapy sessions by school counselors who have noticed that they might need a bit more extra help with their day to day educational lives. The animals would be present for the counseling sessions and have been proven to help children be more open in talking to their counselors and more likely to ask for more help in general. Of course having a school shared animal might be less personal than bringing your own animal from home but it might also create better comradery between students. This might be a poor example but compare the shared therapy animals to a car that has to be shared between siblings. Knowing both parties share a need and care for the upkeep of the vehicle then creates a sense of respect between the two of them and a reason to interact regularly, or at least in passing.

There are some experts who believe these animals are not necessary. They theorize that time spent with their friends is what these kids actually need. Many students reported being upset that they weren’t able to see their friends for extended periods of time; bringing them back in contact with said friends should magically solve the problem right? No. If anything it will only overwhelm them. Like I wrote earlier, things have noticeably changed since the pandemic first began last year, chances are that some people may have drifted apart or have discovered completely new attributes of themselves. This then adds even more pressure that their old friends might not like this new version of them or might not even recognize them in the case of those that went through puberty (and grew quarantine beards). Long story short, people judge, dogs don’t.

The Midway Middle School in Georgia has decided to implement an animal therapy program since returning and it has begotten positive results. Therapy dog Maslow, caught on with the students almost immediately but according to an article written about the dog, school administrators had “no idea the lasting impact she would make with our staff and students”. Several individuals reported having increased confidence and decreased anxiety especially in regards to concerns they had as a result of the pandemic. Overall, the therapy animal made students happy to go to school which is what’s most rewarding.