Therapy dog brings joy to Maryetta students | News … – Tahlequah Daily Press

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Updated: January 7, 2023 @ 12:10 am
Students at Maryetta School love Mena the therapy dog, owned by Diane Weston. From left are: Lilly Eagle, 9; Raegyn Wolf, 8; and Sherrington Willis, 9. Renee Fite | Democrat Journal

Students at Maryetta School love Mena the therapy dog, owned by Diane Weston. From left are: Lilly Eagle, 9; Raegyn Wolf, 8; and Sherrington Willis, 9. Renee Fite | Democrat Journal
MARYETTA – Therapy Dog Mena gives love and receives hugs in return at Maryetta School. She belongs to school counselor Diane Weston.
Weston, a former Tahlequah City Council member, visits a classroom by appointment and shares her special brand of puppy love with each child who needs a hug, or to pet her soft fur.
“As a school counselor, I am always looking for ways to connect with our students. I know that having to care for animals is a great way to teach empathy and responsibility, and I felt that implementing a therapy dog program in our school would be a good way to teach these important skills, as well as help students who are prone to anxiety,” Weston said.
Students and staff seem to adore Mena.
Kherrington Willis, 9, explained that Mena is a therapy dog.
“She helps when someone is stressed. She licks your face a lot and she loves people. She makes your frowns go upside-down. She’s calm and the best dog in the world,” Kherrington said.
Lilly Eagle, 9, likes petting Mena and massaging her puppy feet.
“I like that she’s nice and gives kisses and lets you pet her,” said Lilly.
Reagan Wolf, 8, said Mena reminds her of the dogs at home.
“She thinks she’s smaller than she is, like my dogs, and wants to get on my lap. She makes me feel safe,” said Reagan.
Everybody melts when Mena is here, said Principal Carlene Yell.
“You can be having the worse of days and she’s not biased; she loves everyone. Unconditional love is so important,” Yell said.
The program works with teachers scheduling a time for Mena to visit their classrooms, choosing the time and day for about 30 minutes.
“I go over the rules and teachers send two or three kids over at a time. Some kids even like reading to her,” Weston said.
She has always had at least one or two dogs at home, and after she attended a training for school counselors last year and participated in a Therapy Dog In Schools breakout session, she was intrigued.
“It was led by a school counselor and classroom teacher, and it was extremely informative. That is when I discovered that the temperament of the dog is probably the most important trait of being a therapy dog. My dog, Mena, is a very loving and passive dog, so I thought she would be a good fit,” said Weston.
The pandemic has left people with more anxiety.
“These last two years have shown us just how vulnerable we all are in maintaining good mental health. Today, many children, as well as adults, have experienced serious mental health issues and often suffer from periods of anxiety and depression,” she said.
Research has proved that the simple act of petting a dog can lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety, and even alleviate symptoms of depression.
“Therapy dogs in schools can reach children and adults in ways that traditional counseling techniques often can’t. They are also used to support children’s reading skills and are often used as incentives for attendance and behavior,” said Weston. “A therapy dog’s ‘job’ is to provide emotional support to all people, whereas a service animal is used to support only their owner,” said Weston.
At Maryetta, they use Mena to assist children in dealing with anxiety, especially when it comes to separation anxiety.
“We have many children who simply don’t want to leave their parent and come to school. Although separation anxiety is common, it has become more frequent since we have entered the years of COVID. We have many children who lost loved ones to COVID and this has caused many forms of anxiety, which in turn has affected their ability to separate from their loved ones. Having Mena around to ‘love on’ will help to ease their anxiety and will give children something to look forward to when coming to school,” Weston said.
With a little research, Weston and Mena found training.
“The ‘training’ is not intensive like you might see with a service animal. The most important characteristic of a therapy dog is temperament, something that the dog is born with. Temperament can’t be taught but can be nurtured and intensified with the right training,” she said.
Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD) is based in Wyoming, and they have hundreds of testers/observers throughout the United States.
“I found them while searching for training programs and got in touch with them about a year ago. I contacted a local observer and she met with me four times to observe Mena and I in a variety of settings,” Weston said.
Certification also requires the owner/handler to take an online course, pass the written test, get a background check and acquire liability insurance.
“The observations mainly look for how the dog reacts in different situations, such as reacting to loud noises, moving wheelchairs, elevators and people with unsteady gates. The tester also makes sure the dog can tolerate being touched all over, gentle pulling of the ears, tails, etc. If the dog passes all four observations, the observer recommends application for certification,” she said.
That mainly consists of paperwork and payment of fees. Mena passed her final certification and started her job at Maryetta in October.
The program has been so successful the school is writing a grant for a second therapy dog. 
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