Therapy dog Opera joins students at West Fairmont Middle School with goal of boosting attendance
Apr. 18—FAIRMONT — Lined up at the entrance to the West Fairmont Middle School gymnasium, cheerleaders shook their blue and red pom poms to welcome Opera, a Chocolate Labrador Retriever.
Trained as a therapy dog, Opera elicited roars of approval Wednesday from the packed gym of sixth through eighth graders.
"We're excited to work with Opera and see the interaction and how the relationship with a special therapy dog and our students will help our students succeed in the classroom," Gina DeLorenzo, Marion County Schools county coordinator, said. "Man's best friend is dog."
The initiative responsible for placing the dog is Friends with Paws, which is a subset of the Communities in Schools program championed by First Lady Cathy Leigh Comer Justice. Communities in Schools is a program that promotes positivity within the school system, DeLorenzo said.
However, Opera is meant to target a problem that Marion County school officials want to specifically target, which is attendance. There's precedent for this. At another school where a dog was placed, one student who was prone to absences didn't miss school for 80 days.
"We've noticed a decrease in absenteeism with some of the schools where we've placed dogs because once the students meet the dog, they want to see the dog every day," Vicki Shannon, a representative from Justice's Office, said. "The dog doesn't have judgment. They don't judge you. They don't make fun of you. They're your friend and if you're having anxiety you can have a visit with a dog."
Shannon said therapy dogs like Opera work because children can feel the love from the animal, and it gives them a sense of security and safety that's always going to be there. Dogs like Opera attend school five days a week, go to sporting events and attend downtown festivals.
The dog is even trained to snuggle.
"One student was practically non-verbal when he met his therapy dog River down in Wyoming County," Shannon said. "'Best day ever!' So we see the proof that the dogs are improving lives for students and that's what this is about."
The dogs go through intensive training and only come from certain breeders. Friends with Paws obtains the dogs from a company named Ultimate Canine. The company has over 20 years of experience training dogs and the owner, Julie Case, trains dogs to conduct bomb detection and work with special forces in Europe.
Opera's training was clear the moment she stepped into the gym. Despite the ear splitting cheering, amplified by the walls of the gym, Opera stayed calm and in control, showing no sign of being nervous. She even laid down and rested while Shannon addressed the school from the podium.
WVU Medicine sponsored the dog and her training. The hospital system uses therapy dogs within its own buildings.
"We have seen the impact within our hospitals with our own patients and their families, of having a service animal present and helping with the patients," Cari Morgan, nurse director at WVU Medicine Fairmont Medical center, said. "We want to support the community by spreading that amongst the school system."
Opera will reside in the classroom of eighth grade English language arts teacher Sara Cornwell who will be Opera's primary handler. Cornwell, along with two other designated school employees, will undergo training to learn to properly handle Opera to ensure she has optimum impact on students.
"I hope that it will bring a sense of joy and positivity to our school and to the students and staff that work at our school and are here all the time," Cornwell said. "I hope that she will bring a calming element to students or staff that need that as well.
"We're really honored to have this experience, I think it'll be beneficial for our school and county."
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
