ELKINS, WV — Students at Elkins High School welcomed a four-legged friend into their school today. The school hosted an assembly to celebrate the arrival of the state’s next therapy dog through the Friends With Paws program. The dog introduced at today’s event is named Tora. She is a Yellow Labrador. “I can already tell that Tora is going to have such an impact on the lives of the students at Elkins High School,” First Lady Justice said. “She will be there everyday to comfort them and give them unconditional love. I’m so glad that we were able to place her there.”  The Friends With Paws program places certified therapy dogs in several schools across the state, providing companionship and comfort for students in need of a boost. Since April 2022, fifteen Friends With Paws therapy dogs have been placed across the state. Therapy dogs are specially trained to provide comfort and support to people in various tense environments. They can help people feel at ease, improve their mood, relieve anxiety, and remove social barriers. Therapy dogs are highly trained and certified to show their ability to work in stressful environments, ignore distractions, and provide therapy to people with diverse backgrounds and circumstances. Following today’s assembly, students and staff had the chance to greet Tora.  “We are very excited to have a therapy dog at Elkins High School as an additional resource that can help our students,” Randolph County Schools Superintendent Debbie Schmidlen said. “We are so grateful and appreciative of this opportunity for both our students and our staff.” The Friends With Paws program is a partnership between the Governor’s Office, West Virginia Communities In Schools (CIS) Nonprofit, and the West Virginia Department of Education. Therapy dogs are placed in schools within CIS counties where students are disproportionately affected by poverty, substance misuse, or other at-risk situations, and are in the greatest need of a support animal. The dogs serve as a healthy and friendly outlet for these students to address trauma and other social-emotional issues. Schools that previously received therapy dogs through the Friends With Paws program include:Coal, a male Black Labrador, at Welch Elementary, McDowell CountyFoster, a male Golden Labradoodle, at Buckhannon Academy Elementary, Upshur CountyJasper, a female Yellow Labrador, at Lewis County High School, Lewis CountyRiver, a male Yellow Labrador, at Pineville Elementary School, Wyoming CountyShadow, a male Black Labrador, at Moorefield Elementary School, Hardy CountyJet, a male Yellow Labrador, at Spring Mills High School, Berkeley CountyKylo, a male Black Labrador, at Lenore PK-8 School, Mingo CountyWinnie, a female Apricot and White Labradoodle, at Wayne Elementary School, Wayne CountyKasha, a female Yellow Labrador, at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, Pocahontas CountyMarshal, a male Cream Labradoodle, at Hinton Area Elementary School, Summers CountyLouie, a male Yellow Labrador, at Bridgeview Elementary School, Kanawha CountyOakley, a male Apricot and Cream Labradoodle, at Oakvale Elementary School, Mercer CountyRuby, a female Golden Retriever, at Greenbrier East High School, Greenbrier County.Malfoy, a male Yellow Labrador, at Chapmanville Intermediate School, Logan County.More information about Friends With Paws can be found in Communities In Schools: Friends With Paws, a documentary produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Click HERE to view the documentary.  A 2019 study published by the National Institute of Health found that a dog’s presence in the classroom promotes positive mood and provides significant anti-stress effects on the body. In addition, research shows that the simple act of petting animals releases an automatic relaxation response. Therapy animals lower anxiety and help people relax, provide comfort, reduce loneliness, and increase mental stimulation. They are also shown to lower blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health, reduce the amount of medications some people need, help control breathing in those with anxiety, and diminish overall physical pain, among other profound benefits.  |
