Wausau, WI: School therapy dog de-escalates situtions

Sept 3, 2018, WTNH, New Haven, CT: Therapy dog joins students returning to school in Wisconsin https://www.wtnh.com/community/back-to-school/therapy-dog-joins-students-returning-to-school-in-wisconsin/1415377293 Four-legged students are also getting ready to head back to school. One of those is Badge, a 4-year-old flat-coated retriever. He is hitting the books and patrolling the halls at Wausau East School in Wisconsin once again. His job as a therapy dog is incredibly important. "He has deescalated situations. We had a student that had barricaded herself in a room in a different facility, made comments that she wanted to hurt herself, wouldn't want to talk to officers and turn off the lights, and we brought in Badge and it was like a flip of a switch," explained school resource officer Nick Stetzer. Another school in town also has a labradoodle starting soon.