Therapy dogs becoming fixtures in Santa Rosa schools

Vincent Meade is kind of an anxious kid. His words, not ours.

The 12-year-old takes medicine for it, but his anxiety usually kicks in at night, and so does his medicine, he said.

Daytime anxiety for him is rare, he said, but when it does happen, he’s been known to walk out of a Rincon Valley Middle School classroom and head straight to the counseling office where he knows he’ll see Gibbs, the school’s therapy dog.

“Gibbs … doesn’t have problems like everybody else,” Meade explained. “He just looks at life and … his attitude doesn’t change. He’s just happy.”

Meade will lie on the floor next to Gibbs and stroke his fur, said Rincon Valley Assistant Principal Amy Sather, who owns the 2-year-old golden retriever.

“The kids in this day and age have such different stressors than we had when we were kids,” she said. “I’ve got kids whose parents are going through a divorce and they’re so depressed by it. There are suicidal kids. Kids that are so anxious.”

Having service dogs at schools is nothing new, but having therapy dogs is.

“I think depression in schools has always been an issue, but in recent years it’s become more prevalent,” Sather said. “We’re all trying to react to what’s in front of us.”

Six Sonoma County schools now have therapy dogs or therapy dogs in training, according to Paws As Loving Support, a Forestville nonprofit organization that provides grief dogs for Sonoma County schools in times of crisis and also provides the 15-hour training required for dogs to be certified as therapy dogs. In addition to Rincon Valley, the schools include Whited Elementary School, Santa Rosa High School, Herbert Slater Middle School, Sonoma Academy and Hidden Valley Elementary School.

Nikki Buckstead, executive director of the Sonoma County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, called the tactic being taken by some Sonoma County schools highly progressive.

“It’s an innovative way to bring some pro-social, positive activities and experiences to the students,” she said. “Therapy pets, especially for anxiety and depression … definitely reduce those symptoms.

“There’s an increased sense of well-being that comes. There’s a relief from feelings of isolation, and kind of a sense of purpose. It offers a very secure and uncomplicated relationship.”

Sather recalled a time when a student came to her and explained why she liked being with Gibbs. The student said that with dogs, it’s obvious what emotions the animals are feeling. With people, though, they can be smiling while saying the meanest thing in the world.

“I’ve had students literally hug and cry into his fur,” Sather said. “It’s pretty amazing, and he seems to understand and know when a student really needs him.”

Sather, who is now in her 15th year at Rincon Valley Middle School, said the change in anxiety and depression levels among students is clear.

“Depression has always been out there, but we’re more aware of it now,” she said. “With social media out there and with how mean kids can be … a lot of that has created more anxiety. You can be so mean on a keyboard, and you’re not seeing the reaction of a kid’s face when they read it.”

At Santa Rosa High School, there are two therapy dogs on campus: Grace and her half-sister Daisy, both a mix of Pomeranian, poodle, Yorkie and Maltese. They’ve been on campus for five years.

“I think with everything going on in our society today, stress is a huge issue for the kids,” Principal Brad Coscarelli said. “When there’s a crisis and we call for (grief) dogs to come out, the kids will sometimes migrate to the dogs instead of counselors. It definitely speaks to the power of the dogs.”

At the elementary level, therapy dogs are being used in a different way: to help ease first- and second-graders’ nerves about reading.

Leni Kearns, the computer technician for Whited Elementary School, brings her golden retriever, Toby, to school with her every day. Toby is a therapy dog like the rest, but at the elementary school, he spends most of his time hanging out while 6- and 7-year-olds read to him.

“They feel comfortable reading to Toby without any fear of judgment or making mistakes,” Kearns said. “So that enables the student to relax and look forward to reading.”

Alison McLeod has been teaching second grade for 11 years.

“I think there’s much less anxiety when the kids are reading to Toby because the feedback from Toby is all positive,” McLeod said.

She described one student, a boy, who is motivated and eager to read but struggles with it, which makes him self-conscious. Reading with Toby has made all the difference for him, she said.

“If he should make a mistake, the dog doesn’t know, so he feels successful in what he’s doing,” McLeod said. “It’s a very nonstressful environment.”

Toby also helps out at the beginning of the school year, providing relief from the separation anxiety that both students and parents can feel.

Steve Mizera, director of special education for Santa Rosa City Schools, said that using therapy dogs is something he would like the district to do on a wider level.

“It’s something that we’re trying to make more programmatic,” he said. “The model seems to be working. … And if it’s being successful, we should look to see how we can replicate it.”

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.