Four-Legged
FRIENDS Brownsboro Intermediate School welcomes special visitors on campus .
BY MADELINE TERRY
Wagging tails filled the room as students were happily petting and caring for their new friends . “ NO DOGS ALLOWED ” is one of the most obvious rules students know . However , This January Brownsboro Intermediate brought “ Therapet ” to their school , a non-profit organization that provides Animal Assisted Therapy ( AAT ) and Animal Assisted Activities ( AAA ).
“ School counselors have seen a rise in anxiety and stress in students since COVID and we are looking at different ways we can help students decrease these distressing feelings ,” Costner said . “ Being around therapy dogs is therapeutic and healing in ways sometimes unreachable with other therapies .”
Therapet is a volunteer organization where the dogs and handlers go through rigorous training to be part of the program . The organization holds educational seminars across the country to help clinicians , educators and volunteers learn how to use animals in health care , education and other therapy and visitation related settings .
“ I often get asked what inspired me to include Therapet as a service for our Students ,” BIS principal Shelby Costner . “ I was able to witness first hand the decrease in anxiety and stress a child has after a visit from a therapy dog while my family was receiving medical care at Children ’ s Medical Center in Dallas , TX . After talking with the dog handlers at the hospital , I became interested in the benefits of therapy dogs for students and knew it was something I would want to incorporate into the services provided by the school counseling program .”
It is proven that the students also receive psychosocial benefits such as building rapport , increasing self-esteem and motivation , and stress reduction .
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