Sara Ervin’s second grade classroom at Leesburg Elementary School is shown with Clifford, a therapy dog at the school. Photo provided by Krista Polston.

By Phoebe Muthart
InkFreeNews

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — Dogs have a way of calming people down or reducing stress when it occurs. Now, students and staff at Warsaw Community Schools can visit with a furry friend when a need arises.

WCS has six therapy dogs and one drug-sniffing dog in the school system. Lucy is at Harrison Elementary School, Alucard is at Edgewood Middle School, Chap and Clifford are at Leesburg Elementary School, Sawyer is at the Warsaw Area Career Center, and Maya is at Eisenhower Elementary School.

Krista Polston, chief communications and strategic partnerships officer for WCS, said the program has grown drastically since the inception of the program. The first therapy dog was Jovie, whose handler was Jim Thompson. He took Jovie to two schools, Harrison and Jefferson, from 2008 to 2016, multiple times a week. The program grew from there, said Polston.

Research shows therapy dogs can help students in many ways, including improving social skills, reducing stress and anxiety, increasing endorphins, and improving focus and confidence.

Polston said the dogs are used for a variety of reasons. One dog, Champ, is usually in the nurse’s office at Leesburg Elementary School. His handler is Randy Polston, who is trained to handle the dog.

When Randy picked up Champ from the breeders, he got a call from his son, Nathan Polston, principal at Leesburg Elementary School. Nathan told Randy Leesburg’s therapy dog at the time was retiring due to age and wanted to know if Randy would train Champ to become a therapy dog. Randy said his response was “yes” because he dedicated his life to helping students, so this was just another way to do that.

“Nurse Rachelle loves having her,” said Krista Polston. “If a kid is having a rough day, (the dog) has a calming sense.”

Krista Polston said the students and the staff really enjoy the dogs’ presence in the schools.

“The dogs can break down barriers,” she said. “It’s an instant connection with the kids.”

The children do not have to interact with the dogs if they choose not to. Some do and some don’t want to, but Krista Polston is quick to point out that even the toughest child will warm up to a dog.

“It just evolves naturally,” said Krista Polston who added she expects the therapy dog program to grow momentum in the future. “We’ve seen the power of what they (the dogs) can do.”

Dena Lancaster, family and consumer sciences teacher at WACC, said having therapy dogs in the school is making a difference. She noted one interaction a student had, where an autistic child had an outburst and went out of the classroom. Dog Sawyer went after the child and was able to calm the student down.

Training the dogs is not cheap. It costs thousands of dollars to train one of the therapy dogs. The training is paid for by grants, fundraisers and other funding. Training therapy dogs takes months, said Krista Polston.

If anyone is interested in sponsoring a dog, contact Krista Polston at (574) 371-5098, Ext. 2482 or email her at [email protected].

Champ, a therapy dog, is usually in Nurse Rachelle Hime’s office at Leesburg Elementary School. Champ is shown with Emma McDonald, a fourth grader. Photo provided by Krista Polston.

Lucy, a therapy dog, is shown with Athena Gunter, a second grader at Harrison Elementary School in Warsaw. Photo provided by Krista Polston.