Love on a Leash: an organization that strives to give comfort and happiness to communities around the country.

For the past year, they have visited the Liberty library during Nest Time, when students get time to work on homework or make up tests. On the first Thursday of every month, Love on a Leash brings therapy dogs to the school for students to pet and play with, while the dogs are dressed up in funny costumes. Students have found comfort and stress relief in this event, such as Jasmine Morris (11), a Love on a Leash monthly visitor who was deeply affected by the cancellation.

“It’s very nice when they come in, I get to relax for once in a while and just hang out with dogs, since I’m not really around dogs all the time,” Morris said.

Suddenly, on Wednesday, Sept. 24, Linda Bolen the Love on a Leash St. Charles County chapter leader, received a notice from the librarian Nikki Playle, that the district has cancelled the October Love on a Leash visit.

“I was very disappointed when I heard their visit got cancelled because it was the first one of the school year,” Morris said.

Bolen said she received an email from Playle on Sept. 24. Playle said that principal Dr. Ed Nelson had been approached about having board-certified paperwork for the Love on a Leash organization so Liberty had to cancel Love on a Leash upcoming visit.

The school board of the Wentzville School District has the say in this decision on the dogs’ visit being halted for time being. According to the Deputy Superintendent of the district, Dr. Jeri LaBrot, per Regulation 6145, there is a chance that Love on a Leash will be allowed to return to their monthly visits, as long as our contract with the company gets renewed, as it has been timed out.

“Per Regulation 6145, the district and the handler or third-party organization must enter into a Board-approved Therapy Dog Services Agreement,” LaBrot said. “The recent lapse in service is due to the need to update our Board-approved Therapy Dog Services Agreement.”

With this being a school board decision, Liberty admin had no say in the decision to cancel the visit. However, on Oct. 7, principal Dr. Ed Nelson, reported that the agreement has been resolved.

“The district has completed the process of developing and outlining policy related to service animals and therapy dogs,” Nelson said.

At this time, Regulation 6145 has been resolved, however, this does not mean that the dogs will for sure come back to the library next month.

“I am in the process of gathering the paperwork and hope to have it ready for approval at the next board meeting,” Playle said.

The chance of the dogs coming back has increased since the news first broke about them getting cancelled. Although, whenever they do come back, it will for sure bring a smile to everyone’s face, as anytime they visit, it’s a joy for all to share.

This story was originally published on LHStoday on October 14, 2025.