PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – Rutherford High School’s newest employee is not what you’d expect. She has 4 paws and a wagging tail! Winnie is a one and a half year old English cream golden retriever.
Her mother works for Bay District Schools and got her with the intention of using her as a therapy dog for the students at Rutherford High School.
Kathy Johnson, a psychologist and Winnie’s mother, says, “I just felt that a therapy dog would be good for the students because it would have a calming effect. A lot of our work is about de-escalation and helping with anxiety and things like that.”
Winnie is brand new in her role, but she is already making a difference, just one week into school.
Johnson continues, “When Winnie comes to her, the children flock around her and want to pet her. She just stands there, looks at them and lets them do what they want, almost smiling at them. The difference she makes when she interacts with the children is obvious, anyone can see it.”
Not only is it a reassuring reassurance for the students, the staff loves Winnie too!
Margot Gall, a school counselor at Rutherford High, tells us, “Her influence has been very positive. Our kids love her very much, but the staff loves her very much too. She’s just a comfort. It’s almost like home when you have pets, you know. It’s just great to watch the kids when their mood goes from very excited or tense to kind of relaxed and they keep coming back and asking, ‘Where’s Winnie?'”
According to officials, Winnie is not the only therapy dog in the Bay District Schools, but she is the first at Rutherford High.
Winnie has already completed all of her training and received her certificates. Winnie’s mother tells us she is so grateful to the community that came together to help her with her training and insurance.
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