Therapy dogs arrive at 2 north central West Virginia schools

NUTTER FORT, W.Va. (WBOY) — Nutter Fort Primary School and West Fairmont Middle School were visited by representatives of West Virginia First Lady Cathy Justice’s office on Wednesday to introduce two new furry friends.

The dogs are part of the “Friends with Paws” initiative set up by the First Lady’s office and were provided by Ultimate Canine , which trains them for eight to nine months before sending them on assignment.

“We feel like…these are the navy seals of therapy dogs,” said Vicki Shannon, Chief of Staff for First Lady Justice. “When the dogs arrive, they’re so fit and healthy. They’re bred for disposition, and they know they have a job to do.”

Nutter Fort Primary School’s dog is a male Golden Retriever named Eli, who has already been there for the past few days. “Eli really favors the younger students, and it’s a great fit for a primary school,” said Shannon. “I think they’re all gonna be very happy.”

The administration at Nutter Fort Primary has worked with Ultimate Canine and Eli’s trainer, Jill over the past few months to become trained on how to handle Eli. On Wednesday morning, the school held a “pup rally” as an official graduation for Eli, and to celebrate the completion of his training.

According to Harrison County Superintendent Dora Stutler, the introduction of a therapy dog to Nutter Fort Primary was inspired by a visit from Gov. Justice himself.

“We actually [were] visited by the governor a few months ago, and he saw the kids and felt so welcome in this building,” said Stutler. “He went back and he thought this would be a great place to have a therapy dog and we agreed.”

During the pup rally, students also got a chance to meet Opera, a female labrador retriever who was delivered to West Fairmont Middle School a few hours later to become its therapy dog.

“These dogs help with social and emotional issues. They’re experts in calming children, and we’ve seen attendance records improve with schools that have therapy dogs,” said Shannon. “So, we’re looking forward to great results.”

Therapy dogs like Eli and Opera are only available to schools in the state that participate in the “Communities in Schools” program. “Friends with Paws” works hand-in-hand with participating schools to provide extra support to the students, which is why the dogs are such an impactful addition to the learning environment.

“If there’s…a traumatic event that has happened that morning in the county or at home with the child, then that’s when the therapy dog is ready to go to work,” Shannon said. “And that’s when the primary handler can see to it that any student that’s affected—or if it’s the whole group that’s affected, they can have visits with the dog. It’s an immediate calming of the student.”

The “Friends with Paws” program was first introduced to the state by First Lady Justice’s office in 2022. Since then, it’s been able to provide a total of 23 therapy dogs to schools across West Virginia, with Eli and Opera being the 24th and 25th.

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