Four years ago, former Guidance Department Coordinator Marybeth Sacramone brought Ricki Bear Golden (RBG) to Wayland High School as a Community Resource Dog (CRD) to ease students’ anxiety and nerves. RBG was trained through the organization called Golden Opportunities for Independence (GOFI).

“A Wayland parent introduced me to members of the GOFI organization,” Sacramone said. “I approached our administration about having a service dog join the counseling team, and our superintendent at that time, [Arthur Unobskey], was all for it.  Unobskey, as well as [former Superintendent Paul] Stein, had already seen the positive impact our other therapy dogs had made on students during crises, so allowing another dog, who would be a fully trained service dog, was a natural and welcomed next step.”

There have been therapy dogs at WHS for many years. Before RBG, Sacramone occasionally brought in two other therapy dogs named Zoe and Bella.

“WHS has always been very accepting and understanding of animal assisted interventions,” Sacramone said.

As well as being a CRD at WHS, Sacramone has brought RBG to other communities besides WHS to help ease emotions. This includes other schools both in and outside of Wayland, as well as nursing homes.

“[RBG] and I still visit other schools like the Accept Collaborative School in Natick and Medway, which are out-of-district special education schools,” Sacramone said. “[We also visit the] Wayland elementary schools as well as local nursing homes. [RBG] has been all around the district with me to visit struggling students, to help with crisis situations and to just make lots of people smile.”

This year, Guidance Department Coordinator Benjamin Buffa brought in his dog, Gruff, to WHS as a therapy dog. Gruff was trained by Animal Assisted Therapy Services (AATS) and students can visit him in the guidance office if they are in need of comfort or an escape from the stress of school.

“I think seeing therapy dogs around the school, at least every once in a while, is a good way to be reminded that there is always a friend [who] is willing to comfort you, even if it’s a furry friend,” junior Anna Varney said. “It’s also therapeutic because it’s nice to have a common presence, because school can be very chaotic.”

This year, WHS has been in search of more therapy dogs. Sacramone teamed up with Chris Breault of MetroWest K9 to do so

“It has been fun to join Breault and Metrowest K9 [at] other community resource dog events around New England,” Sacramone said.

Breualt was previously a part of K9 Engagement Services, but recently started MetroWest K9 as his own company.

“MetroWest K9 is a small, personalized dog training program that offers one-on-one dog training from basic obedience to therapy dog certifications, which are accredited and handed out by our partners at Boston K9,” Breualt said. “We also do Comfort Dog and Crisis Response K9 Services throughout Massachusetts.”

Because MetroWest K9 is a startup company, they are still finalizing details. However, Breault already has a lineup of dogs including his own dogs, Kuzik the husky and Sakura the black lab.

“Our dogs will include Kuzik, Sakura and RBG along with various Police Comfort K9s who will, on occasion, be joining us,” Breault said. “Kuzik and Sakura started going to WHS this year in an effort to help ease students through stressful situations. Not only do the dogs relieve stress for the students, but they also provide comfort for those students who are going through hard times whether that be at home, in school or other situations.”

Therapy dogs have been proven to reduce stress. Research shows that petting dogs produces oxytocin, a hormone that decreases anxiety and sadness. Some students agree that therapy dogs are helpful with the stress of high school.

“I think [therapy dogs] are a good way to calm people down when they need it and sometimes it’s easier to just be in the present with someone you don’t necessarily need to talk to,” Varney said.

The frequency of the therapy dog visits depend on when the school administration would like them to. According to Breault, the visits have been occurring around once a month.

“When the school holds events like mental health days or there is a situation involving a student or a staff member, the dogs will likely be brought in,”

Want to keep up with @MetroWestK9 and any of their dogs? Follow them here: @k9_sakura, @kuzik_the_husky and @ricki_bear_golden

This story was originally published on Wayland Student Press on December 16, 2023.