During finals week, the administration brings therapy dogs into the school to help students who feel stressed or anxious about their final exams. Therapy dogs may be helpful to students at the time, but since therapy dogs are so beneficial during finals week, LFHS should offer therapy dogs year-round.
Therapy dogs year-round would cause a noticeable shift in the attitudes of LFHS students and cause a significant, positive change in the school atmosphere.
With the growing number of absences, frequently having therapy dogs at our school would lower chronic absences. Therapy dogs increase a feeling of belonging and support among students in a school environment, which can often be stressful and overwhelming.
Not only will students feel an increased amount of support, but they would benefit tremendously as therapy dogs aid in reading skills, enhance executive functioning skills, and stimulate problem-solving skills.
Among the many benefits, teachers, and faculty would see a noticeable difference in attention span and engagement in class. If LFHS invested in having emotional support dogs throughout the school year rather than just finals week, students’ stress levels would significantly decrease, allowing students to enjoy school more.
LFHS Social Worker and Paws for Patrick Mental Health Chair Daniel Maigler explains that contact with animals helps “promote enthusiasm” in schools.
“We know that kids face stress every day and the research shows that contact with animals helps reduce feelings of stress and anxiety,” Maigler said. “Facility dogs, in particular, help to reduce the stigma of talking about mental health challenges because people with significant emotional distress and those who are having the best day of their lives, equally report enjoying time with the dogs.”
Paws For Patrick, created to honor the memory of LFHS student Patrick Roemer, is a nonprofit organization in Lake Forest that is dedicated to improving mental health through emotional support animals.
Using Emotional Support Animal (ESA) and Therapy Dog programs, they provide the funds and resources to bring the love of animals to those who need it. Bringing their ESA’s to LFHS, they desire to bring joy to all students and make LFHS a better place. Students greatly appreciate and benefit from the love and support from these animals.
Students with and without high stress and anxiety levels can benefit from contact with animals in a school environment. According to a case study by the National Institute of Health, children who played with dogs had significantly lower stress levels versus their peers who did not frequently interact with dogs.
Other schools in our area have already taken on this challenge, having dogs occupied at the school all months of the school year.
“Just knowing that there is a dog in the building can help students to feel like they will have a way to regulate their stress and makes them more likely to want to come to school and take on challenging tasks,” Maigler said. “This is why schools like Libertyville High School and Everett Elementary in district 67 have facility dogs that are present every day.”
According to the National Library of Medicine, therapy dogs can reduce physiological symptoms of stress by lowering cortisol levels, increasing positive emotions, and promoting engagement in learning activities and positive attitudes toward learning.
If our school had designated therapy dogs located at the school throughout the year and not primarily during finals week, students would find relief from the excessive pressures of high school. Students would find our school to have a more calming, positive environment. Everyone can benefit from therapy dogs: students, teachers, staff, and faculty.
