SIDNEY, Iowa — In a heartwarming scene at Sidney Elementary School, students welcomed K-9 Sally, a 15-month-old “Goldador,” as the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office introduced its newest crisis response therapy dog, KETV reported.
Sally, paired with Deputy Logan Roberts, is tasked with providing emotional support to students and staff in Sidney Elementary, Sidney High School and the Fremont Mills School District, according to the report. Her role is unique in Iowa, as fewer than five K-9 therapy teams focus specifically on schools.
“She works specially with helping people that are in crisis, that are super stressed or having a rough time, having a tough day,” said Roberts, who also serves as a school resource officer.
The idea for the program came last year when Roberts noticed a need for additional resources to address students’ mental health, according to the report.
“I just kind of saw a need for, there being another option,” Roberts said. “We typically employ two canine officers, and last year, we were getting ready to retire one of our dogs. I kind of made a joke about, you know, be kind of fun to have a dog inside the school.”
Crisis Canines of the Midlands, an Iowa nonprofit, specializes in training first responder K-9 teams to assist with mental health needs, according to the report. Rebecca Smith, the organization’s CEO, explained that dogs like Sally create a calming presence.
“It serves as a very natural bridge between the uniform and the students that they serve,” Smith said. “There is a scientific basis to a dog, having a affect neuro chemically within the brain of any, anyone but especially a child, that when they interact with a calm dog in that type of a situation, oxytocin is released. It brings someone who is in crisis, who is sometimes not even verbal, not able to even form a sentence because they are stuck in that survival mode within their brain, just interacting with a calm, trained dog in that situation, feeling the support of that dog, feeling the physical touch of that calm, warm body, can bring somebody out of fight or flight mode.”
The program has already shown its value.
“I’ve not walked into a setting yet, classroom, hallway, out in public, where I haven’t just seen people’s faces light up and for them to smile,” Roberts said. “She’s brought a very, very calming…welcoming presence to our building and to our community. She’s done some really good work.”
Once fully certified in April, Sally will be a resource not only for schools but also for the broader Fremont County community, according to the report.
