Novi Schools Will Receive Therapy Dogs To Help Students Returning To In-Person Cope With Stress

(CBS DETROIT)- Special education teacher Rebecca Middleton with the Novi school district will soon take her best friend Bosa to work.

"Because he's just so calm, and he loves people, and when we're going on walks, he's super social, and he's just an awesome addition to our family."

Now Rebecca says the Silver Labrador Retriever will be a great addition to her classroom.

Offering her emotional support during the pandemic, she thought, maybe he could offer the same to her students as they return to in-person learning, so she applied for a grant so that she and Bosa could receive therapy training. Rebecca says she got more than she expected.

"My boss had the idea of partnering with NEF (Novi Education Fund) to expand this grant so that we could support all students in all 10 buildings in our district."

Rebecca says now she and 9 other Novi School staff will attend 24 training sessions with their dogs to provide adequate emotional support for any student in need throughout the district.

"COVID was so hard on so many of us, so being able to provide that therapy support for our students is huge."

Novi schools are currently on a hybrid learning system.

Rebecca has been teaching virtual-only and says the dogs are expected to be in the school buildings by mid-May

© 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.