Therapy dog helping kids in the classroom

There’s a lot of excited tail-wagging going on surrounding the new kid in class at an Arkansas school.

It’s all coming from the district’s first therapy dog which goes to school every day.

Ranger the Golden Doodle walks the halls of Center Valley Elementary in Russellville brightening the days of students during their classes.

The school’s counselor Angela Mcguigan says Ranger was initially brought in to help kids cope with grief, like the death of a family member.

She quickly realized he had other talents. He walks to class with them, hangs out while they are getting flu shots, and even sitting and listening patiently while students learn how to read.

Mcguigan said, “It really is an amazing thing to see a child go from being really upset to their face just light up when he walks in the room. He’s just a judge-free audience and they build their confidence talking to him.”

The school district says Ranger is part of a yearlong test run of the program, but with enough support and positive results, they plan to introduce therapy dogs at other schools.