Therapy dogs ease stress at Stockbridge High School

Imagine this: You’re scrolling through your Facebook feed when an image of a therapy dog in a high school pops up with the words “Where was this when I was in high school?”

by Hope Salyer

Imagine this: You’re scrolling through your Facebook feed when an image of a therapy dog in a high school pops up with the words “Where was this when I was in high school?”

Most people would have one of two thoughts run through their heads: “I wish that was around when I was in school” or “That’s what’s wrong with society today.”

Stockbridge High School English teacher Elizabeth Cyr and Go Team Dog trainer Bonnie Barbick are demonstrating the endless benefits of providing therapy dogs in schools.

Cyr first learned of the dogs while caring for her mother, who suffered a traumatic brain injury last winter. Cyr said the first time she met Rosalee, Monroe and Bonnie, she was moved by the experience.

“I took my mom to many places where therapy dogs were used and could see how beneficial they were to the outlook of patients who were experiencing stress, anxiety and depression,” Cyr said.

While visiting her mother at her last therapy facility, Wellbridge in Pinckney, Cyr had a moment when she was feeling a lot of stress herself.

“Monroe, Bonnie’s 4-year-old Bernedoodle, bounded over to me and nuzzled in. After a few minutes of being with Monroe, I had a new outlook on my situation. What’s more, I was able to reflect on that experience several times in the next few days and felt a sense of calm every time I thought about him,” she said.

Cyr said following the school lockdown this past February, she noticed increased anxiety and stress in the building.

“I had a thought that therapy dogs could help students in the same way they had helped me,” she said. “I introduced myself to Bonnie and asked if she would visit our school, after explaining the situation to her.”

Barbick, a dog handler for The Go Team Dogs organization, eagerly agreed and came to the high school to share her therapy with all of the students.

Barbick explained that prior to bringing her dogs into organizations to serve as therapy dogs, extensive training measures must be completed. According to Barbick, both Monroe and Rosalee, her 3-year-old Mini English Goldendoodle, went through multiple rounds of training to join The Go Team Dogs.

“Obedience training is the beginning of it all,” Barbick explained. “We sent Monroe back to Canada at 8 months to train with the best. He stayed with Lucas Mucha (SwissRidgeKennels) for five weeks. He came back amazing. We then got Rosalee, and at the age of 8 months, we started training weekly with Sit Means Sit. After about a year of training, she passed her Canine Good Citizen CGC test in June 2016.”

Following that training, Rosalle trained with The Go Team and passed her test in August. Monroe was then enrolled at SMS, passed his CGC and completed his Go Team training in Chicago in November 2016.

According to Barbick, all dogs must pass CGC to move on to Go Team training to become a therapy dog.

She was happy to report her new dog, Adalind, a 15-month-old SwissRidge Doodle, passed her CGC training in Pittsburgh in June.

Barbick said the training with Go Team Therapy, Crisis and Airport Dogs is intense. “The weekend of training is long. We do bus training (how to position your dog under the seats and get on and off in a speedy manner), teach our dogs to ride escalators and elevators and to do stairs properly. We work with first responders to do fire house training (the dogs learn to walk partly around the engines with lights and sirens blaring) and learn how to go through the TSA Security at the airport.”

The dogs are Crisis Dogs, and may get called to bus somewhere, or be around large crowds and fully suited firefighters. The deployment needs to be speedy and precise, so training is vital to the success of the dogs.

All of the training pays off when the dogs visit those in need. According to Barbick, she visits Stockbridge High School and rehab and assisted living homes several times each week. She also visits the Kennedy Learning Center (for students with autism and cognitive disabilities) monthly, and is planning to visit an alternative high school in Garden City this fall.

The Go Team Detroit visits other schools, participates in Read to Rover programs, works with Wayne State Law School to destress students, and visits Haven, a shelter for domestically abused women and their children, in Pontiac.

Following that training, Rosalle trained with The Go Team and passed her test in August. Monroe was then enrolled at SMS, passed his CGC and completed his Go Team training in Chicago in November 2016.

Go Team has almost 1,000 teams nationwide, and a team in South Korea and Germany.

According to Cyr, Barbick and other staff members at the high school, the results of the therapy dogs have been tremendous.

“Students love being with the therapy dogs and express great joy and a particular stillness after each visit,” Cyr said. “I’ve seen students come to tears of happiness on several occasions as they openly talk about how their relationship with the therapy dogs has improved their lives. There are residual effects from the experience because students can reflect back upon it and remember feelings experienced during their sessions.”

Cyr said she has also seen students talk openly about stress or anxiety in ways that they may not normally away from the dogs’ presence.

“The therapy dogs bring a sense of calmness and openness to a classroom culture that is hard to replicate,” she said.

Cyr also explained some teachers schedule the dogs to come in right before tests to reduce anxiety in the classroom, while others use the experience as an invitation to write and create.

While both Cyr and Barbick have seen the benefits to therapy dogs, some people may worry about having the dogs brought into schools. With the possibility of kids being allergic to certain breeds or afraid of dogs, there are precautions that need to be set in place.

Barbick’s dogs are all part poodle, which reduces the concern for a dog allergy. According to the American Kennel Club, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology reports as much as 10 percent of the U.S. population is allergic to dogs. While no dog is 100 percent hypoallergenic, the AKC does recommend poodles to those allergy sufferers. The breed’s trademark coat has “a predictable, non-shedding coat which produces less dander.” The AKC website states, “Dander, which is attached to pet hair, is what causes most pet allergies in humans.”

As for the students who are afraid of dogs, the special Go Team training measures put in place require the dogs to be well-behaved while they are working. According to Barbick, the dogs cannot be aggressive to people or other dogs.

“(At) one school we visited, a small child kept petting Monroe’s tongue. Monroe weighs 107 pounds, and he is trained to not be reactive,” Barbick said. “These are qualities I would say are necessary for a therapy dog. Our dogs know when they are working, and they may not potty, eat or play when wearing their vests.”

“(At) one school we visited, a small child kept petting Monroe’s tongue. Monroe weighs 107 pounds, and he is trained to not be reactive,” Barbick said. “These are qualities I would say are necessary for a therapy dog. Our dogs know when they are working, and they may not potty, eat or play when wearing their vests.”

With the special training put in place to become a therapy dog and the benefits to having therapy dogs in schools, Barbick has seen tremendous results everywhere she’s taken her dogs.

According to both Cyr and Barbick, Monroe, Rosalee and possibly Adalind will continue to visit Stockbridge High School during the 2018-19 school year.

To learn more about The Go Team Dogs or to donate to the nonprofit organization, visit goteamdogs.org.