SAUGUS — Dog days could soon be coming to Saugus.
Jeannie Meredith, chairwoman of the School Committee, wants the district to bring a therapy dog into the public schools.
“The use of therapy dogs in schools and universities has increased all over the country to help with the elevated level of social emotional and anxiety that we are seeing in our youth today,” said Meredith. “As an animal lover and lifelong animal owner, this concept makes perfect sense to me.”
The district has had an increase in the number of students with social-emotional needs over the past five years, said Superintendent Dr. David DeRuosi, who hired two home-school liaisons two years ago and a third this year. The social workers serve students in school at home.
In an effort to learn more about therapy dogs in schools, DeRuosi spoke with a Melrose guidance counselor to learn how the district acquired its dog, Tinker.
Most therapy dogs are trained by the National Education for Assistant Dog Service, which takes 18 to 24 months, he said. The dogs are then matched with a human, who attends a 10-day training before taking the dog home. The process is expected to cost $45,000 from start to finish.
“You have to find somebody in-house who is willing to take the dog,” said DeRuosi.
As an alternative, agencies exist that can be hired to bring a dog in for a few hours at a time, he said.
Researchers have evaluated the effectiveness of pet therapy in different settings and determined that using therapy dogs in response to traumatic events can help reduce symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and anxiety, said Meredith.
Therapy pets “reduce stress psychologically and emotionally, and increase attachment responses that trigger oxytocin, a hormone that increases trust in humans,” she said.
Dogs can be used to teach empathy and interpersonal skills, help develop social skills, to soothe children, and to help build a rapport between professionals and students.
Committee member Liz Marchese questioned whether food, vet bills and other costs associated with having a therapy pet would fall on the district.
