BENTONVILLE -- Murphy the labradoodle has become a familiar sight at Bentonville's Washington Junior High School, and for at least some students, his presence has a soothing effect.
"I'll see him in the halls and stuff, and he's always just wagging his tail, and he's super happy," said Cali McLaughlin, 12, of Bella Vista, a seventh grader at the school.
Cali said she often finds peace from petting Murphy when she's having a bad day.
"It's just comforting and just cheers me up a lot," she said. "When I leave, I'll continue to think about him and how he was super sweet."
Murphy is a certified therapy dog, one of four therapy dogs owned by staff members serving on Bentonville School District campuses, said Don Hoover, executive director of student services.
While there are no official therapy animal programs in Northwest Arkansas' largest school districts, introducing therapy animals into schools is a growing trend within the Bentonville and Springdale districts, administrators said. It's one way they hope to boost staff and student wellness.
Fayetteville, Fort Smith and Rogers administrators said their schools receive occasional visits from therapy animals that may not specifically be placed on district campuses.
"Having an animal in our office or at the school is just one more way for a child to form a meaningful connection," said Katie Jenkins, school counselor at Shaw Elementary School in Springdale. "Maybe they're more comfortable with an animal than a teacher or counselor."
Jenkins serves students and staff members at Shaw with the help of Kashi, a 5-year-old mixed-breed therapy dog.
Springdale has six therapy dogs and a therapy rabbit -- named Bugz Aldren -- serving in schools, with staff members at Tyson School of Innovation and Kelly Middle School working toward getting their personal therapy dogs certified to work in their schools as well, Jenkins said.
"It's kind of actively growing," she said, noting that therapy animals are serving students at all grade levels. "The district has asked that we just have one per school."
Staff members work independently to get their personal therapy animals certified, said Marla York, a school counselor at Washington Junior High School in Bentonville.
York introduced Murphy, a labradoodle who is less than a year old, to the school in November, she said. Murphy's training and certification cost about $2,800 and was paid through the school's parent teacher organization and Unleashed, a Bentonville-based nonprofit group that helps place therapy dogs in Northwest Arkansas schools.
Many staff members opt to introduce therapy animals because they see the benefit to the schools in which they work, and they often pay for therapy animal training and certifications on their own, Jenkins said.
Jenkins said she's a foster and adoptive mother as well, and she paid for Kashi's training and certification independently.
"I also wanted the benefit of having that in my home, which was part of the reason I was willing to make the financial commitment and the time commitment," she said.
Liability insurance is in place for the animals, Jenkins said, noting that each has to have a single, trained handler who manages the animal at the school.
It's a big commitment that's worth making, she said.
"You can't just add a therapy dog to a school and then pick somebody to be in charge of them," she said. "The dog can't travel around the school between different people."
CALMING PRESENCE
Not every dog has what it takes to be a therapy animal, York said.
"They have to be able to be everyone's dog," she said, noting that Murphy must remain calm in the presence of strangers and large groups of people who may want to pet him.
Murphy greets students when they arrive at school, serves students who go in for counseling, sits with students eating lunch and walks the halls routinely with York to bring comfort to staff members and students throughout the day, York said.
Morgan Hritz, a special education teacher at Hellstern Middle School, said she's seen an increase in student anxiety during the covid-19 pandemic. Hritz serves the school with Nala, a 4-year-old Siberian husky who has been diagnosed with anxiety of her own.
Nala's anxiety wasn't initially realized, Hritz said. Once Nala was diagnosed, Hritz realized the dog could still serve effectively with the condition and could act as an example for students to overcome the challenge.
Hritz wrote a children's book called "Nala the Hero Husky," which was published in September, to use in the classroom to share Nala's story, how she copes with anxiety and how students can do the same, she said.
Therapy dogs are a source of relief for staff members as well, said Debbie Casto, Washington Junior High School physical education teacher and girls basketball coach. Casto walks Murphy at the end of most workdays.
"It takes my mind off everything," she said. "I wish every school could get one, and I wish that we had him even earlier."
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Therapy dogs aren't just a comforting presence; they can often contribute to students' education, Jenkins said. Some students who don't want to read out loud to adults or to their classes will read to Kashi.
"I even have some students with selective mutism or other disabilities that involve their language communication. They are more comfortable talking to her," Jenkins said.
Nala helps students understand lessons in communication, Hritz said.
"We're looking for any creative way to connect with children and build those relationships and give them ways to express themselves," Jenkins said. "We're recognizing that it's not always people or adults like ourselves that the kids connect with first."
Some of Hritz's students with severe speech or language problems use devices to communicate, a skill that Hritz said Nala helps reinforce.
Nala has buttons that she pushes to communicate needs such as going to the bathroom or eating, Hritz said.
"I don't give her any commands to push her buttons. She communicates all on her own," she said. "If I'm not listening to her, she'll drag the buttons over."
Students see Nala's needs being met, which contributes to them using their personal devices to communicate needs to others, she said.
"They were seeing Nala 'talk' and getting things that she wanted," Hritz said.
Kashi helps students learn lessons in self-control, Jenkins said, noting that she'll take the dog into classrooms to demonstrate positive behaviors.
"She will show them how she can wait for long periods of time without being impulsive and getting up," she said.
Kashi also will demonstrate healthy relationship-building with students as she spends time with them, letting them interact with her as an act of trust, Jenkins said.
"We talk about how we do that with people that we trust, too," she said. "We don't just run up and hug somebody that we don't know very well. We wait so we build a relationship with somebody."
York said all schools can find value in adding a therapy animal to their staffs.
"He brings joy and acceptance and love," she said of Murphy. "That's his job."
Marla York, counselor, lets students play with Murphy on Tuesday Dec. 7 2021 at Washington Junior High School in Bentonville. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
Marla York, counselor, lets students play with Murphy on Tuesday Dec. 7 2021 at Washington Junior High School in Bentonville. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
Therapy dog Murphy and Marla York, counselor, visit students during lunch on Dec. 7 2021 in the cafeteria at Washington Junior High School in Bentonville. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
Marla York, counselor, and therapy dog Murphy visit on Tuesday Dec. 7 2021 with students during lunch at Washington Junior High School in Bentonville. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
Shaylynn Abernathy, an eighth-grade student at Washington Junior High School in Bentonville, pets therapy dog Murphy on Dec. 7 2021 in the office of counselor Marla York. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
Murphy has his own special spot in the corner of Counselor Marla York's office Dec. 7 2021 at Washington Junior High School in Bentonville. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)