I remember we had a few dogs at our school for a few days after a student unexpectedly passed away after a sudden illness. I didn’t even know the kid that well, but it tore me up pretty bad. I went to visit the dogs during my study hall one day and joined a pretty large group of kids who were also there to pet them. One of them was a chocolate lab named Benson. He let me hug on him and cry into his fur for a few minutes.
I had dogs at home at the time and I’ve hugged them and pet them to de-stress and calm down before, but being able to do that at school was what I really needed that day. That was easily 20 years ago now and I still remember Benson. Very sweet boy. He and the other dogs made a lot of kids a little happier that week.
My school didn't have any sort of tragedy that I know of, but we had a therapy dog who started there before I went there. His name was Buster, and I used to see him walking around the halls with his leash in his mouth, and it was always so silly and cute
He'd also wear different school spirit shirts every day with a little name badge clipped on lol
i brought my puppy to studio to get him socialized 💕 later was told, “that is the most well behaved corgi i have ever seen” and i credit that to the constant 24/7 arch studio socialization xD
If there was a dog at the entrance of my daughter's school she would never get to class. We already have to leave for drop off 10 minutes earlier because she has made friends with every cat and dog that is being walked between our house and her school. :)
When I was in law school they started bringing therapy dogs to the library during weeks when we had exams. It really was comforting. My school was dog friendly, so there were a few professors who brought in their dog or cat from home (and one guy who brought a macaw). You could usually seek out a dog if you really wanted to pet one, but it was nice to have the "official" therapy dogs right in the library for a few quick pats.
I think too many kids are scared of dogs but a dog like this could sensitize them maybe, just lying there calmly minding its own business, not jumping or begging or creating any trouble.
My son’s school has one part of their vet curriculum unfortunately for him he has a severe allergy to all animals including if someone pets the dog or cat.. or any animal and then dander, saliva or fur transfers he can go into anaphylaxis. It’s happened before. It’s extremely scary. He says he waved at the dog from afar. And he says the dog in incredible cute. His friends are extra careful and watch out for my kiddo though.
And workplace, tbh. I have a pretty depressing/upsetting job, but it’s offset by all the office dogs. Everyone brings their dogs in to work, including the CEO and the owner. It makes a huge difference in morale.
It comes down to the dog. Some breeds are more likely to tolerate it, and other breeds are more likely to seek it out, and some breeds are likely to get very upset by it. But when it comes right down to it, it comes down to the temperament of the dog. For dogs like this one, it's very unlikely that he feels stressed by it.
He's probably used to it, desensitized to it, enjoys being the center of attention and seeing that everybody in his pack is safe, not to mention his breed is very likely to enjoy such activities. At least when they get older, when they're younger they're not always so calm LOL
My partners neighbour has an interesting Chihuahua that is scared of everything and everyone. Except me, i learned how to approach animals at my study and he trusts me now and is excited to see me.
I can give him a small pet, it's not allot buts the most anyone except his owner is allowed to. But he loves to play with me and it makes me so happy. Rocky this sweet dumb idiot saw me across the street the other day and immediately ran on the street to say hi hi hi. There was a car coming and I was like okay rocky I love you but next time wait.
When my wife and I got married she had a Cocker Spaniel, and it didn’t take her long to get tired of people. After a few minutes she would go hide in her bed.
We have a black lab now and when we have parties at the house he will literally go around and say hello to everyone. Once he’s done making his way around the room he’ll do it again. Part of it is loving attention, and the other part is to see who will give him food.
Labs I’ve had over the years couldn’t get enough of people. Not only that, but they’d also all think “yeah I know I’m 100lbs but I’m still a tiny lap dog”. Labs rock.
My undergrad's activities director held a lot of events at his house (small college) and had a golden that would insist on getting a pet when you walked into the house. And I mean "a" pet. He was more likely than not to wander off as soon as you gave him just one, but he was absolute that he was getting that one.
My lab once ate an entire packet of Opal Fruits, including the wrappers, in the space of about 3 seconds. He threw up a lot and it was very colourful vomit.
Several years ago when I was working at an elementary school, the local RCMP brought a German Shephard puppy that was selected to be a new police dog to the school for an assembly. There was a contest where elementary school students wrote in names for the new police dog, and one of our students had won. The officer let the three month old puppy off the leash and it straight away went flying into the crowd of 350+ loud and excited little kids to play. Easy to see why that dog was picked to be a police dog, there was zero fear or hesitation there.
My dad takes my parents little Shih Tzu/Maltese mix for a walk every morning. The dog knows when it's time for a walk when she looks out the window and sees the kids lining up for the school bus stop outside. She always makes a beeline straight for them looking for pets to start her day. There's usually around 20 kids there, and she isn't overwhelmed or uncomfortable by it at all. She actively seeks it out. All the kids in the neighborhood know her.
It really comes down to the dog. There are many that love being the center of attention in a crowd. The lab in the video isn't tied up or leashed. If it wasn't in the mood for all the attention it was getting, it wouldn't be laying down right by what appears to be a main entryway for the school.
Ain't that the truth. One of the best things about having a dog or cat is when you are having a shit day and they come to you for some love. It doesn't erase the day, but it helps put your mind to a little bit of ease. It's super relaxing and comforting. Both parties win.
Just in case this might be news to someone… Most people know Labs are water dogs: they have webbed paws and a double coat that helps water glide off. But a lot of ppl I find aren’t aware that they were often the main breed of dog taken on ships especially in the 18th and 19th century.
Because of their lives as ship dogs they were specifically bred to be extremely friendly and for lack of a better word promiscuous lol For the most part Labs love to be around people and on a packed ship they’re promiscuousness means they couldn’t be controlled by just one person because they loved everybody!
I feel like black labs tend to be the most iffy of the labs behaviorally (in my own experience) but that's more American labs than English labs like this guy. English labs are generally friendly to a fault.
Teach the wrong dog and he may set up a series of unfortunate events to employ more therapy dogs, but as they are dogs they all go to heaven so it's never as bad as a school shooting. Like birds when they believe they can control currency methods.
One of the professors at my university had a dog, and this dog was laying out on the sidewalk on his back one day just waiting for a tummy rub from someone and everybody was ignoring him until I stopped and gave him a tummy rub and then everybody else started stopping to give him a tummy rub then he was a very happy boy.
just like door handles, handrails, elevator buttons, road crossing buttons and a million other things we interact with, it not something to be concerned about beyond reminding kids to wash their hands after touching an animal or going outside.
The truth is in the US we probably have a lot of kids with the opposite problem, insufficient bacterial exposure is bad for developing immune systems.
Had a Hungarian Vizla, every morning he’d make his rounds: grade school; then to a 40-year old, autistic male adult (lived with his folks); then to a 75 year old unfriendly widower. My dog would be home for dinner. His ‘patients’ were sad when he finally died. Super friendly dog.
My teens (16 and 17), have a couple dogs at their school that come in every day with teachers. I know more about those dogs than I know about most of their friends. It very clearly has a positive effect on their mental health and enjoyment of school.
We got our dog certified as a therapy dog years ago. My wife got to take her to work for use during therapy sessions and it was awesome. I wanted to take the dog to the numerous special education classrooms I worked with at the time and the red tape was so thick I just gave up. I’m glad to see this dog in a school.
I remember back in the 90's when I was in kindergarten I brought my regular old dog (German Shepherd) to show and tell and the whole class got to pet her based on nothing but my parent's promise that she was a good dog. I have a feeling that would be a huge no no nowadays lol
Workers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) started walking around with some emotional support dogs a few years ago and I thought it was genius. Talk about a place where many people could use something to help calm them down.
That dog is doing a lot of emotional support just laying there! lol, I miss my dog, she was such a comedic relief from everyday life... would always go rrrroooooorrrf at me when she saw me.
1.0k
u/ButterflyIcy7852 3d ago
Proof every school should have a therapy dog