Mason Schools offers mental health support with therapy dogs at every school

MASON, Ohio — The Mason City School District is offering a solution to support the mental health of students in and outside of the classroom. At every school in the district, there are now therapy and service dogs available to support students.

“There are some children that get really emotional at different points during their day, and so the dogs can shift that mindset, and it allows them to get back to the work,” said Sarah Bowser, a Mason Early Childhood Center counselor.

The idea came about after high school students noticed an uptick in student suicide rates. Now, after several years, the support for students has been better than ever.

“Laughter and joy are great medicine for the soul, I say, and so when you’re coming from some difficult situations or maybe a place where you don’t have that kind of joy, the dogs are just there and give it unconditionally,” Bowser said.

The district has partnered with Mindpeace, 1N5, Grant Us Hope, Joshua’s Place and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to ensure every school has access to therapeutic support.

There are currently 21 school counselors and six dogs in the district. Shiner and Gibson are golden doodles, donated by the Shine Like Stable Foundation, who support students in preschool through second grade at the Mason Early Childhood Center.

Each school provides connection rooms where students receive one-on-one counseling sessions.

“We’re able just to take the dogs into the classrooms, and the kids learn a little bit about the commands the dogs get to learn,” Bowser said.

Other service animals include Titan, who was funded through a grant from the Mason Schools Foundation in honor of former student Jake Williams, who lost his life to suicide. Lucy supports students in fifth and sixth grade and sometimes joins Titan at Mason Elementary. Coleby assists counselors at Mason Middle School, and Mr. Hibbs supports Mason High School.

“For the families who have given us the privilege to have the dogs here and to see what the difference is having the dogs here, and then being here before us having the dogs here, it has been a tremendous benefit and a true gift to all of us,” Bowser said.