H.E. Bourgoin Middle School has a new staff member, and her name is Maisie.
Maisie is a wellness dog that offers support to students and staff at the school.
“What a wellness dog does, really, is be there,” explained H.E.B.’s student advocacy counsellor and Maisie’s handler Dani Angell. “Interaction with animals has shown so many results, and people who have everything from anxiety to more complicated mental health concerns... there’s no one that wouldn’t benefit from it.”
Angell suggested bringing Maisie to the school last year.
“I was actually doing therapy work with Maisie before I was a registered social worker, before I went to school for that. It’s always been a passion of mine. I believe in the healing power of animals and there’s so much research that you can’t deny the affects,” she said.
Angell hopes Maisie will bring a positive energy to the H.E.B. community.
“Our job here, for all of us, is to support kids, and this is a tool I have in my back pocket for supporting kids. All she can do here really is contribute to just something extra special that our school has to offer.”
The costs for bringing Maisie to the school are being covered through their counselling department’s budget. They’re also waiting to hear if they were approved for a grant to assist with any additional costs.
“She’s my personal dog, so it’s not like we had to buy her or train her. It was already done,” noted Angell.
H.E.B. principal Jeannine Ellis said the school was excited to add Maisie to the staff.
She continued, “It’s going to be a bit of a transition for kids, because right now, it’s a huge novelty. I’m glad (her first day) was on a no-bus day, because some of the kids are getting used to seeing her. Most of the kids get excited, and they want to come see her.”
The nine-year-old rough collie was recently certified as a wellness dog through the Chimo Animal Assisted Wellness and Learning Society (CAAWLS), an Edmonton-based not-for-profit organization that offers Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) services to communities.
“The whole community has been really positive about it. We’ve had lots of great comments and feedback from parents about the idea,” expressed Angell.
Maisie isn’t a stranger to the role she’s in. She was a certified therapy dog in British Columbia with St. John’s Ambulance seven years ago, and worked in long-term care in a hospital during that time.
H.E.B. sent out a notice to parents about Maisie joing their team, in case there were students who had allergies or were afraid of dogs. While some parents came forward with these issues, Angell said they weren’t against having Maisie at H.E.B. on a weekly basis.
For Angell, bringing her dog to work is just one of the ways of breaking down the stigma of going to the counsellors’ office.
“It shows that there’s nothing wrong with going to the counsellor’s office and the stigma behind it. It’s a fun, cool place, and it’s not just a place you go when you have problems. It’s putting a positive light onto what I do.”
