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School committee approves comfort dog for Nettle Middle School, sends policy draft to subcommittee
Summary
Principal and a teacher proposed a comfort dog for Nettle Middle to support student mental health; the committee approved allowing the dog and asked the policy subcommittee to draft a formal comfort‑dog policy, while members discussed allergy, supervision and classroom‑management concerns.
Principal Eileen Doherty and teacher Hannah Lawler proposed introducing a comfort (therapy) dog into Nettle Middle School classrooms to help students with anxiety, attendance and social‑emotional learning. They described research and local examples, and Lawler said she would oversee the dog’s training and care if approved.
Committee members raised practical concerns — allergies, where the dog would be during the school day and how it would be supervised — and asked about logistics. Lawler and Principal Doherty said the dog would be leashed and under the handler’s control, could be kept in a kennel or an exterior‑door classroom when not in use, and that the breeder (Bloomfield Labradors) places dogs with schools and police departments. Lawler outlined a timeline in which a puppy would begin socialization at eight weeks and complete training and certification (Alliance of Therapy Dogs standard) around one year of age.
Attorney Magliochetti moved to approve the comfort dog for Nettle Middle School and to send creation of a comfort‑dog policy to the policy subcommittee; the motion carried on a roll call. Committee members asked staff to bring a draft policy to the subcommittee (timelines and exclusion rules for students with allergies or fear of dogs were specifically requested).
