Granville, OH: Middle schools get therapy dog to "help reduce anxiety"

Feb 8, 2018, NBC4, Columbus, OH: Therapy dog in-training helps relieve anxiety for Granville middle school students http://nbc4i.com/2018/02/08/therapy-dog-in-training-helps-relieve-anxiety-for-granville-middle-school-students/ Student stress levels are on the rise in Granville Schools and the district is trying out a very fluffy solution to help reduce anxiety. George is a 6-month-old poodle and therapy dog in-training that’s already a hit with the students at Granville Middle School. More than 75% of students at Granville Middle School describe their stress level as “very high”. That’s up 9% from the previous school year…. “It’s been really positive,” said Postle. “Anxiety levels are increasing. We think that social media is related. We think that high academic demands are related. There’s a lot. It’s very complex, but we’re looking at all of it just to see what we can do to help.” She said coping strategies weren’t meeting the rise in stress, so she did some research and found out about therapy dogs. “It’s the actual touching and petting of a dog. It’s also being with an animal and caring for an animal,” said Postle. “It’s just been proven to reduce stress, to create calmness, to boost confidence.”…