Feb 19, 2018, Alliance (OH) Review: Paws-itively supportive: Therapy dogs used to calm students http://www.the-review.com/news/20180219/paws-itively-supportive-therapy-dogs-used-to-calm-students Mason joined Lake as an “employee” in November 2016 as a specially trained therapy dog. He spends mornings at Hartville Elementary School with students and his afternoons in the adjoining Lake Elementary School. At night, Mason goes home with Katy Yoder, Hartville Elementary’s school counselor. She and Shirley Oberdier, Lake Elementary’s school counselor, were trained as his handlers. He is school district-owned, Yoder said. “I’m sort of like his foster parent,” she said. His mission is to improve moods, relieve anxiety and alleviate behavioral issues, according to school publications. School officials say they’ve seen a dramatic calm in a child in the midst of a tantrum when the dog suddenly saunters into the room.
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