Middle school teacher raises over $3,000 for comfort dog

DETROIT LAKES — Special education teacher Jessica Johnson raised over $3,000 on GoFundMe for a comfort dog for Detroit Lakes Middle School.

The school's new comfort dog is a yellow Labrador retriever named Comet, his mission is to reduce students’ stress, anxiety and loneliness. His first day at the school is Sept. 21.

Interquest CARES is the company that trained Comet and placed him with the school. Although Johnson could not pick the school's dog, the Johnson family did tell Interquest CARES they preferred Comet.

“My daughter was partial to Comet because of his name. She likes outer space and stars,” Johnson said.

Once Comet is adjusted to a schedule, the middle school guidance counselors will assist Johnson in being dog handlers.

“He will spend the first few months just with me at school and that’s part of the training,” Johnson said.

Most days, Comet will move between the guidance counselor’s office and two regular instruction classrooms. Johnson will visit classrooms with Comet who will provide comfort for students if needed.

“We thought a guidance counselor would probably be the most appropriate fit for the second handler because then students can have individual appointments with the guidance counselor and the dog,” Johnson said.

The comfort dog will come with two rules: While Comet is walking around the school, petting him will not be allowed, and Comet will have a designated mat that will go wherever he goes. When Comet is on his mat, with permission from the teacher of the classroom he’s in, students can pet him or sit next to him if needed. Comet will not be fed human food and during lunch period he will have a 30 minute break in his kennel located in Johnson’s classroom.

Students who have dog allergies shouldn’t worry, as the middle school's updated filtration system may assist in preventing any issues with allergies. Comet won’t be permitted in classrooms with students who have severe allergies. Johnson said that they can make a specific schedule to avoid interaction with students who have dog-related allergies..

After school, Comet will go home with Johnson. His grooming, food and exercise needs will be taken care of by her and her family.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson was able to take students to do volunteer work with the animals at the shelter.

“The kids were just great with the animals. The animals helped bring out the best side of the kids.” Johnson said.

Since the pandemic, students have not been able to visit the Humane Society. Johnson discovered Interquest CARES, based in Houston, Texas, that trains dogs to be comfort dogs in schools.

Dogs from Interquest CARES get over 100 hours of live environmental training before being placed with a school.

“The dog comes to school every single day. We call it another tool in the mental health toolbox for the campus,” said Alyssa Berry from Interquest CARES.

According to Berry, comfort dogs are different from service dogs because they provide services to everyone and not just their handlers. Like service dogs, comfort dogs have uniforms which are thick blue collars with the words “COMFORT DOG” on them. The collar indicates that the dog is working.

Interquest CARES gets the future comfort dogs at eight weeks old. While a dog is being trained it stays with a foster in the Houston area. Interquest CARES wait to place the dog in a school until it is a year old.

“Before the dog gets to interact with any staff or students on campus during our training, we’ve already taken that dog into campus without the interactions,” Berry said. “We put that dog in every single type of situation that could possibly happen, that we could possibly think of on a school campus.”

A training day for a comfort dog may have the dog sitting on a mat in the hallway. The company tests the dog by having a student or trainer run by, sit near or drop a book next to the dog. This is to make sure the dog does not react to what is going on around them.

According to Berry, Comfort dogs are typically Labrador retrievers or golden retrievers because of their calm temperament and genetics. Comfort dogs that Interquest CARES places are spayed or neutered and up to date on vaccinations.

“It’s actually going to be a huge asset and I’m really excited to be able to be the first teacher in our district that’s using one of these dogs,” Johnson said.