As a New Albany-Plain Local Schools intermediate school counselor, Kelley Schubert’s office is a frequent stop for students looking for a one-on-one connection, and today was no different. Today, Schubert and Shirra, a Canine Companions for Independence dog, were meeting with a student who had been in cancer remission. However, the cancer was back, and the student wasn’t ready to tell her friends, classmates and teachers. She wasn’t prepared to “go backward.”
The student began talking with Shirra, petting and interacting with the dog. Finally, she looked up at Schubert.
“She’s being really gentle with me,” she said. “Do you know why?”
“No,” said Schubert.
“She knows I have cancer.”
“I don’t know if that would have happened without the dog. There was something very safe in that moment with the companionship with the animal that just allowed her to talk,” says Schubert, reflecting on that day. “That was a tender and beautiful moment for her to be able to open up, and she hadn’t done that yet at school.”
Many studies, including a 2012 study published by Frontiers in Psychology, suggest that human-animal interactions can help “promote social interaction, to reduce stress and anxiety, and to enhance human health.” And though Shirra has passed, you can still find a Canine Companions dog roaming the halls of NAPLS, often followed by a cloud of students stealing a quick pat between classes or saying hello.
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Jon Hood, director of student services, safety and security at NAPLS, noticed a need that was not being met, especially among students with disabilities, when he was principal of Maryland Elementary School in Bexley. Through his desire to meet that need, he found Canine Companions and his service dog, Darius, a yellow lab.
“It can be as simple as a fire drill and it’ll ruin their day. It might be an hour and a half of human intervention to get them dialed back in so they can function,” says Hood. “With Canine Companions, they can come in and, where humans aren’t able to provide that same intervention, a dog can dial them right back down and get them connected to the learning process so quickly.”
When Hood came to NAPLS in August 2018, Darius came with him. Because Schubert was already trained by Canine Companions, she’s delighted to take Darius some days.
Canine Companions dogs like Darius go through rigorous training, and by the end of that training have mastered 40 commands to help complete tasks like picking up dropped objects, turning on or off lights, and resting their head in one’s lap for stress relief.
“Kids with anxiety gravitate toward the dog; they find a lot of connection and compassion,” says Schubert. “You can see kids, when they see the dog, their level of stress goes down – ‘Oh, look, there’s the dog,’ – we know that those quick moments, smiling, happiness, is a really good intervention for learning. They’re stressed for just a moment of time, and Darius helps them refocus on learning.”
The presence of a dog, especially one trained in the way that all Canine Companions dogs are, helps lower stress levels, increase productivity and bolster connectedness among the students. And though extensive studies have been done showing the positive effects of human-animal interaction, Schubert and Hood get to see it firsthand with Darius.
“Prior to a Canine Companion, it wouldn’t be uncommon for a student to grunt at you as they’re coming in. But you stand there with a Canine Companion and they stop, they start petting the dog and telling you about the movie they saw last night,” says Hood. “Next thing you know you’re engaged with them, building a relationship. … (Darius) just is a remarkable tool to help us help kids feel valued and feel like their voice is heard.”
Amanda DePerro is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
