Medway Students Get a Little Pet Therapy

During Mental Health Awareness Week, last month, a few furry faces brought a lot of smiles to Medway High School students. The school hosted local therapy dogs as a way to start the day off in a positive manner.
“Therapy dogs at the HS came about four years ago when Kathy Cummings one of our school counselors mentioned that the Peer Counselors were looking into it,” says Karl Infanger, teacher at MHS, whose dog, Kallie, is trained as a therapy dog by Therapy Dog International, run by Pat Gipps, of Holliston. “The first three years, the dogs came in as needed during times identified by the counselors and administration where students may face increased levels of anxiety like finals or the death of a student.”
“Mr. Infanger and I got support from Ryan Sherman, (Medway’s Wellness Director), and that allowed us to bring the dogs in more frequently. The kids love it,” says Guidance Counselor Allison Jasmin, who is an advisor to the Peer Council along with co-advisor, Carl Rice.
This year, the therapy dogs are scheduled to come in four mornings, to bring calm and cheer to the students.
“I think the dogs are really an awesome way to kind of release some stress,” says Dante Pantaleo, senior and co-president of the Peer Council at Medway High School. “This week is Mental Health Awareness week, so we brought them in. Other times we think it’s beneficial to bring the dogs is during midterms and finals, and a couple of years ago, we experienced a school tragedy, and so we brought the dogs in to kind of take the students’ minds off the tragedy.”
Dante applied to be a peer counselor, he says, because “I wanted to try and make a difference in my school community and brighten people’s days in any way I could.”
“I think (the therapy dog program) has been great, especially when we’re able to promote it and let the student’s know. Each time we bring them in, the crowds get larger and larger. It’s a nice way to start the day, just in dealing with every day stressors,” says Jasmin. “It’s just an additional way we can cope.”
“I heard one kid say ‘I wish we could have them every single day,’” says Dante. “I personally think, from personal experience …if I’d walk in and the dogs were here it would put a smile on my face. It is just something to take your mind off of whatever, and it really makes a difference throughout the day.”