By Benjamin Plessinger
Exam week can be a stressful time for students, but luckily during this stressful time, McNicholas offers something that can give students some time to relax called ‘Therapy Dog Day’ in the library.
School librarian, Mrs. Chelsea Almer explained how therapy dogs can calm students. “Studies have shown that therapy dogs (and other pets) can help alleviate stress and improve mental health,” Almer said. She also shared that “from my perspective, I love seeing people’s faces light up, as they walk into the library and see the dogs.”
McNicholas has hosted therapy dogs from a few different organizations, including Canines for Christ, Pet Partners of Cincinnati, and Alliance of Therapy Dogs. When scheduled, there are usually several dogs in the library for anyone to stop by and relax with the dogs. Interestingly, while these dogs are trained to be therapy dogs, they are different from service dogs. Therapy dogs do not have the legal access rights nor do they undergo extensive training like service or assistance dogs, according to the Association of Therapy Dogs (ATD).
Gemma is one of the therapy dogs that routinely visits McNick. She is a Great Pyrenees, which are herding dogs and often used with livestock. To become a licensed therapy dog, Gemma needed to pass a test where dogs “can’t be shy, can’t jump on others, and can’t pull on their leash,” according to the ATD website. Ever since becoming licensed, Gemma has been quite busy. According to her owner Mrs. Suzie Cavanaugh, wife of SAIL teacher Mr. Bill Cavanaugh and mother of English teacher Ms. Mary Cavanaugh, “Gemma is a busy girl. She visits schools including UC, attends meetings for caregivers, visits with children at Fernside [Center for Grieving Children], has weekly visits at Good Samaritan Hospital, and other special opportunities. She will be in a Reindog parade this coming week!”
Fellow students have shared positive feedback based upon their experience with therapy dogs. “The dogs (do) not get up and move away from you, but they (stay) and appreciate you, for you. This allowed me to take the time I needed in that moment to de-stress and compose myself,” shared junior Emmett Adams. In addition, senior Noah Fleishmann said, “They were calming to me, because they were very chill.”
Unfortunately due to snow days and snow delays, the therapy dogs will not be visiting before midterm exams this year. However, the plan is for them to visit during final exam week in the spring.
The McNicholas Milestone 