Now at work at Coloma Elementary School is a fully certified therapy dog to help improve the physical and mental well-being of students.
Mavis, a smooth collie, started training to be a therapy dog last year when teacher Natalie Contreras approached the principal and superintendent about the idea. She tells us she obtained Mavis herself from a breeder in New Hampshire with the idea of getting her trained and ready for school visits. Mavis is now certified through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and at the school two days a week to work with students.
Contreras says it’s amazing what a therapy dog can do for the kids.
“She’s often very helpful with children who are emotionally dysregulated, having a bad moment,” Contreras said. “She just goes and she’s a nonjudgmental companion to sit next to them and kind of help them reset and rejoin the classroom.”
Because Mavis is still quite young, she’s only in the building part-time, but Contreras has a sign on her classroom door to let students know when the dog is in. Plus, Mavis makes scheduled classroom visits. The kids have really warmed up to her.
“Throughout the day, I hear her name all the time. I think some of the kids just call me Mavis. Like, they just see me and say, Mavis! Even if she’s not with me.”
Contreras says Mavis has calmed down many students having a bad moment. She adds having a therapy dog is something a lot of schools are looking at these days, and maybe more in the area might consider the idea.
