Lovable therapy dog brings serenity, fun to Catholic school every day, one tail wag at a time

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (OSV News) -- Never fear! Hattie Mae is here!

Helias Catholic High School's newly acquired therapy dog brings serenity and fun to every school day, one tail-wag at a time.

"She loves loving-up on the kids, and the kids enjoy it as much as she does," said Krista Hale, counselor at Helias Catholic and Hattie Mae's therapy dog handler.

The dog, which Hale named Hattie Mae, serves as a calm and comforting presence for students and staff, offering support during times of academic stress, emotional challenges and daily life at the Jefferson City high school.

The lovable, 60-pound Bernese mountain dog-poodle mix spends most of her day in Hale's office in Helias Catholic's John Paul II Student Success Center, where she helps put stressed-out students at ease.

"We're available to students who come in to talk to me," said Hale, whose role at Helias Catholic is attending to students' social-emotional needs. "What I think has been most beautiful is, students come in to visit her, but don't necessarily know how to talk about what's going on in their life or the trauma they're dealing with."

They start petting Hattie and start talking.

"Being able to hold onto Hattie and pet her gives them an opening to talk about and process their emotions," Hale told The Catholic Missourian, the news outlet of the Diocese of Jefferson City. "It's been inspiring to see how that helps the students."

Hale also makes rounds with Hattie Mae in the hallways, so students can trade stress for a bit of unconditional affection between subjects.

"They all get some joy out of petting her on the way to class," she said.

Hale has been a school counselor for several years. She's been wanting to get a therapy dog since before she joined the Helias Catholic faculty three years ago.

"When I was interning in college, the school I was at had two therapy dogs," she said. "That was a beautiful experience for me. I saw so many benefits and life-changing stories of how kids were able to open up in ways they couldn't have otherwise."

At Helias Catholic, she contacted Lisa Bax, the founder of Therapy Paws. The Jefferson City-based nonprofit trains dogs and their handlers to bring support and comfort to people of all ages in the community, including people in hospitals and nursing homes, children testifying in court, young people at the local Boys and Girls Club, schools and foster care group homes.

Bax was ecstatic.

"She helped me through the whole process of certifying Hattie Mae," said Hale. Three levels of training were required, followed by a therapy test, which Hattie passed in December.

A community partnership with Diamond Pet Foods in Meta helped pay for the training and certification.

Having a therapy dog is just part of Helias Catholic's commitment to promoting the social, emotional and mental well-being of its students.

Studies show that therapy animals can help reduce anxiety, improve emotional regulation, and promote a positive school environment.

Hattie Mae is available during designated times and may participate in counseling sessions, exam-week stress relief and other school-approved activities.

Hale said young people tend to be more anxious now than they have been in recent memory.

"We are living in an ever-changing world, and that can bring a lot of emotional distress," she said. "Society is different from what it used to be. Social media and other stressors contribute to students' emotional health."

Students don't always feel like they can trust other people. Many believe the adults in their lives just don't understand what they're going through.

"I think making a connection with the dog helps to build that relationship and ease some of the anxiety about voicing the struggles they're having," said Hale.

"Even with students or adults who are not struggling, everyone enjoys loving-up on and petting animals." she said. "What a beautiful way to connect everyone!"

The parents of any student who is allergic to dogs or is afraid of them can sign a form opting the student out of any interaction with Hattie Mae.

"When I'm in the hallway, Hattie is always leashed, always at my side," said Hale. "Even if their parents haven't signed the opt-out form, if a student doesn't want to have contact with Hattie, they don't have to.

"I'll never let the dog off the leash or have the dog in the student's space if they have not given vocal permission to do so," she said.

Hale added, "Having Hattie Mae and seeing how happy she makes people is so beautiful. I think even students who don't have pets enjoy having Hattie here. ... How beautiful is it that we get to use God's creation of a loving dog to help students."

Local schools have created a team to counsel students during crisis or traumatic situations, Hale noted.

"Hopefully, there won't ever be a traumatic event that calls for crisis counseling," she said, "but now that Hattie Mae is part of the team, she can help out with those situations."

Hale said she loves accompanying students on their journey through high school.

"This can be a difficult time for them," she noted. "It's a difficult journey with students. I'm sure everyone can relate to high school being stressful or negative at times. Even if you had an overall great high-school experience, we all had times when we were stressed, overwhelmed or felt lost."

She said it's all the more beautiful to counsel at a Catholic school, where she can relate all of that to God and a student's relationship with God as part of that journey.

Each morning on her way to school, she asks God in prayer to make his presence known to each of the students she encounters that day and "to wrap them in his comforting embrace."

"I pray for God to use my ears to listen to these students and what's actually heavy on their hearts," she said.

"I pray for God to use my eyes to see students who might be facing rough times and can't always confide in someone or don't have someone to confide in," she continued. "And I ask him to use my mouth to speak his word and speak the Holy Spirit into those students."

Helias Catholic's mission is to "build saints and scholars," Hale said.

"We're not just focusing on a student academically," she said. "Ultimately, everybody's job here is to help our students know and be in a relationship with God."