AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds therapy dogs will be visiting students at Carteret High School on a monthly basis.
Lauren Balkan, MSW, LCSW, who is coordinating the program for the high school, had this to say after the first visit this week:
“Just taking the dogs to the office, we were stopped multiple times by students and adults who just lit up and asked to pet them. The students were so excited to see the dogs and were so amazed that we were able to have them in the school for them.
One young man said ‘This is the only time you will see my sensitive side – when I am with animals. I am happy.’
Another student came back to our office later in the day and said she had been having a really rough day, but when she came during lunch and saw the dogs, they made her feel calm and happy and she was okay to make it through most of her day. Our staff members said it was like a gift for them to have the dogs in the office during the day – they said they thought it meant as much to them as it did to the students. Our principal said she wants the dogs here all of the time!”
