“Despite the ever-growing popularity of animal assisted interventions (AAIs), the concept of integrating animals into school counseling is not new. In the 1990s, articles published in school counseling journals described the human-animal bond and proposed ways to incorporate animals into school counseling by using anecdotal stories and case examples (Burton, 1995; Nebbe, 1991; & Trivedi, 1995). Since then, the AAI field has flourished. Research literature supports the positive role animals have in child development in educational settings (Gee et al., 2015) due to the powerful connection between children and animals (Melson & Fine, 2015). Nevertheless, there is a lack of scholarly literature that describes how to implement AAIs within school counseling (Zents et al., 2017).

The first author designed a therapy dog program at B.F. Kitchen Elementary in Loveland, Colorado, after participating in a research study conducted by the Human-Animal Bond in Colorado (HABIC, 2020). The study explored the emotional availability of students when working with a therapy dog team. Findings suggested that the therapy dog team’s student showed a decrease in office referrals from pre- to post-test and started demonstrating empathy. Over the past decade, the first author’s comprehensive school therapy dog program has expanded to include a thriving volunteer team component with six therapy dogs in total. Since the beginning of the program, there have been over 12,000 positive interactions between students and dogs.

Building upon the program’s success, the first author developed a website (School Therapy Dogs, n.d.) and a corresponding social media group that provides an opportunity to network and share information about school therapy dogs. Presently, the group consists of approximately 5,500 members who actively ask questions, share best practices, and celebrate accomplishments. However, the social media posts reflect current issues within AAI, such as animal welfare and counselor competence, illuminating the need for a best practice model widely accessible by practicing school counselors. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide hands-on, research-based information for school counselors who are considering a school therapy dog program at their school.

VonLintel, J. “Pathways for Implementing a School Therapy Dog Program: Steps for Success and Best Practice Considerations.” Journal of School Counseling, v19 n14 (2021)