Finley, English teacher Megan Laws’ 7-month-old Golden Retriever, is in the process of becoming a school therapy dog for students.
The idea of training a therapy dog was suggested by her husband, Trevor, who teaches PE and a film class at Scotts Valley Middle School. Both believing in the importance of supporting students and their mental health, the couple started researching about the therapy dog process last March as they contemplated getting a new dog.
When it came time to pick a dog, they were careful in selecting a reputable breeder and ended up choosing one who had bred therapy dogs in the past.
The couple has hired a therapy dog trainer to guide them and Finley through this complicated process. To officially become a therapy dog, a dog must meet the minimum age requirement of 12 months and pass an official approval process.
“Though we try to take Finley out whenever we get the chance, my husband and I are still so busy as teachers,” Mrs. Laws said. “The trainer takes him out twice a week to public facilities, where he’s adjusting to being in busy spaces and other exposures.”
So far, Finley has explored the movie theaters, Target, the post office, the bank and the hardware store. He wears a “therapy-dog-in-training” vest when he’s in public, which she says is mostly for people to know not to pet him. This encourages him to be OK with not being the center of attention.
“Finley is really sweet and loves to cuddle, which is a really good sign that he’s going to be a good therapy dog,” Mrs. Laws said. “The process involves a ton of work, as we have to make sure that he’s getting exposure to lots of different stimuli.”
Finley at the Capitola Mall in Capitola, California on Oct. 6, 2024, practicing being calm in loud environments.
Mrs. Laws said the biggest challenge with training a puppy is building impulse control, which is extremely difficult given their endless bursts of energy. To work successfully with kids, however, therapy dogs need the ability to regulate their emotions. Especially in a school setting, where there may be students shouting, fire alarms going off or honking out on the roads, it’s especially important that Finley remains calm and professional.
The therapy dog process has been recently approved by the Scotts Valley district, so once Finley gets his certification, her husband plans on bringing him to school full-time on certain days of the week as the first therapy dog of Scotts Valley.
“I’d love to be able to bring him to our school too,” Mrs. Laws said. “We’ve had certain situations in our own [Saratoga] families where mental health has been a big issue, so this is something that’s really dear to our hearts and that we want to support.”
