Dogs have been known as a man’s best friend. This slogan has been brought to life in Grosse Pointe public schools through the incorporation of therapy dogs in the schools. Pierce Middle School librarian Christina Michaud was the first to bring a therapy dog to the district as she introduced her dogs Simon and Beatrice to students and now continues to bring Beatrice to the Pierce library with her once a week, leaving a paw print sign on the door to let students know. This later inspired South Counselor Beth Walsh-Sahutske to train her own dog Tuca and bring her to South.
“The next dog I get, I really want it to be trained as a therapy dog,” Walsh-Sahutske said. “So that was my master plan for Tuca.”
The dogs, besides bringing joy with their adorable looks, genuinely help students with their mental health. Tuca stands in the halls during passing times, allowing students to stop and pet her. She also works in Walsh-Sahutskes’s office, helping her with her counseling work.
“Whenever I see her in the hallway with Mrs. Walsh-Sahuske, I just pet her and just talk to her,” Isabella Romolino ’25 said. “If I’m ever in my Counselor’s Office, I’m just talking to her [and] petting her while I’m talking to Mrs. Walsh-Sahuske.”
Tuca is certified through Alliance of Therapy Dogs. Along with this certification comes a community of other therapy dogs and their owners. This community is used for group gatherings where all the dogs will come together at schools for special events.
“Oftentimes different groups will bring in dogs for a wellness week or before Christmas, just kind of special days,” Michaud said. “They’ll get in touch with a group of therapy dogs and arrange to have them come in.”
Along with South, there are other therapy dogs across the district with different roles that go along with them. Having dogs at North, Pierce, Ferry, and Defer allows for other types of work for the dogs to do and allows students to have different experiences with different dogs.
“She walks around the school with me,” Michaud said. “We deliver books to classrooms. Sometimes teachers will request her presence in a classroom for certain reasons.”
Having consistent amounts of time with a dog will not only improve happiness but is also known to have a positive impact on the life span of humans. The opportunity to have a dog around, especially when some don’t have a pet at home, creates a positive environment out of one that could be stressful.
“They might be doing something [where] they just want the dog there,” Michaud said. “One time a teacher was reading a sad chapter in a book, [and] just having a therapy dog in the room would be beneficial.”
Going to school and seeing a dog allows students to create a genuine connection with them. They have even given students with attendance issues a reason to attend school, along with teaching students basic kindness for others.
“It shows students empathy,” Michaud said. “Even some of the most troubled students will come in and play next to the dog and they get very attached to them.”
