Meway & Millis November 2017

Page 12 Medway & Millis Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com November 2017
Living Healthy
Medway Students Get a Little Pet Therapy
By J.D. O’Gara
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 coadvisor,
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.”
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