Dogs used to help relieve test stress

Glacier High School went to the dogs Thursday as part of an effort to help students relax during finals week.

Therapy dogs were deployed by the French and Spanish clubs to help them carry out “Paws to De-Stress,” a service project of Operation Happiness.

A line formed outside the conference room at Glacier during lunch as students waited for an opportunity to pet, scratch and nuzzle Belgian shepherds Brenner and Stryker.

“As soon as the word got around this morning, more students have been coming,” French Club adviser Stephanie Hill said.

Quiet music was playing inside the conference room and the noise from the lunchroom outside was muffled. Groups of five students sat on seat cushions or chairs encircling Brenner or Stryker. In the two circles were handlers Kim Gilmore and Kathy Lewis of Compassionate K9.

“Come right around, guys,” Gilmore said to a new group of students as they filed in.

Freshman Gracie Benson cupped her hands around Brenner’s face, smoothing back the fur.

“I’m so emotional right now,” Benson said, patting the dog’s head.

Compounding the stress of finals week, other personal matters have weighed heavily on her mind.

“Getting some doggy love was really nice just getting things off my mind,” Benson said.

The dogs were responsive to the students and walked around to each one for some attention during the five-minute sessions.

“I think it’s the tactile experience” that’s calming, Gilmore said. “Dogs are non-judgmental.”

Brenner, a retired search and rescue dog, now spends his time visiting nursing homes and hospitals and assisting people receiving occupational therapy, Gilmore said. Stryker is an active search-and-rescue dog as is Tai, who visited the school in the morning.

The dogs also were to visit Glacier today during the last day of final exams.

Hill said the event was modeled after what colleges have done during finals to combat stress.

“I’ve seen it at the university level but never at a high school,” Hill said.

After petting Stryker, sophomore Jake Hunt said he hadn’t heard of therapy dogs visiting a high school and was pleasantly surprised that school officials allowed the dogs inside the school.

Glacier Principal Callie Langohr, however, wasn’t surprised when she was approached with the idea.

“I’ve learned over the years never to underestimate the creativity of high school students,” Langohr said. “It was their idea. They did the homework. They did all the advertising and you can see they are running it all.

“Semester exams can be very stressful and anything to show we understand and appreciate the hard work that goes into studies, well, we want to show that appreciation.”

Operation Happiness was started this year by the French and Spanish clubs through a $1,000 Great Opportunities grant from the Kalispell Education Foundation.

Earlier in the year, club members, while practicing their language skills, did random acts of kindness such as posting compliments or positive messages on bathroom mirrors and sticking notes into random library books for students to find. The clubs included school staffers by holding a luncheon to show their appreciation.

“Through Operation Happiness we want to help the entire Wolfpack,” Hill said.

Spanish Club adviser Heidi Emerson added, “We want to promote a positive school climate for our students and staff.”

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.