Some might say dogs in the building might distract students. However, they can be very beneficial to students who may struggle with emotional distress or just simply need comfort. GHS sophomore Lindsay Morgan and her family raise service dogs in their homes. Puppies begin training at 8 weeks, and the Morgans work with them until the dogs are about 18 months old. They take them in public, teach them commands, and train them how to act in certain environments. After this, the puppy is turned into professional training for six to nine months to become a full service dog to eventually be able to assist people in need. The dogs come from a non-profit organization called Canine Companions. They provide expertly trained service dogs, at no cost to children, adults, education settings and veterans with disabilities so they are able to lead lives with enhanced independence.
“Being able to raise these dogs has taught me a lot and I feel good knowing I am helping others who may struggle by just raising a puppy; who doesn’t love doing that?” Lindsay Morgan said.
Such work or tasks including guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties.
The Morgan family trains these dogs to not just comfort people, but they also train them to do things including turning on lights, opening doors, and many other things. The skills these dogs learn can be useful in aiding people who aren’t able to do things like that themselves. Currently throughout our district, there are facility dogs, which is a type of service dog that helps many people in one place instead of just one specific person. These dogs have spent much time around the school; for example, the dogs came in on our dedicated mental health day. They were found around the school and visited classrooms to calm students and relieve stress.
“Everyone was super excited to hear the dogs were coming around to the classes; the dogs were just as excited to see all the students,” Morgan said.
Shakespeare is one of the dogs that can be found around Green Local Schools. He has been around for a while now, and has been able to help many of the students at Green.
“I have seen Shakespeare help many students in the school when they feel strong emotions. He helps them feel better about whatever is going on,” Morgan said.
More information on service dogs can be found at canine.org. The website also allows donations to benefit the organization, along with ways to raise a future service dogs just like the Morgan family.

side bar:
Shakespeare (4 years old, yellow lab/golden retriever cross)
Likes- sleeping on the couch/bed, cuddling, getting his teeth brushed, going to school
Dislikes- Anything that requires lots of energy, getting his nails trimmed
Venture (11 months old, black lab)
Likes- eating plants, digging in the dirts, shredding paper, turning on/off the roomba
Dislikes- doesn’t come when hes called, and his head collar