Coming home from a long stressful day at school to your dog patiently waiting at the door to give you all the love they have can instantly brighten up somebody’s day. What society fails to notice is the importance that these dogs can have on our everyday lives, especially for people with mental illnesses. Typically, dogs are seen as “at home” pets, but more often we are seeing service dogs and emotional support dogs as we walk in public places. In our society today, Emotional Support Dogs have been more commonly seen. An emotional support animal, provides comfort for people suffering from a psychological, emotional, or mental disability. These animals are prescribed by medical professionals to individuals to help alleviate daily stressors that one may face. While some studies claim that these dogs are effective in the therapy process, naysayers will disagree stating that they are fake and “just a reason to bring a dog places”. Emotional support dogs can provide love and comfort to those in need, but some say that it can also get in the way of the path to recovery. The heated debate of whether emotional support dogs should be allowed in a school setting brings an uproar into our society. Whether it’s the comfort they provide, the treatment plan of the individual, or the effectiveness of these animals, emotional support dogs ultimately have the opportunity to either shine in our society or cause an argument amongst individuals.
Two reasons these furry friends should be allowed in schools
Suppress feeling of loneliness, depression, anxiety, comfort, helps in time of crisis.etc.
Emotional support dogs are there to help people when they are going through mental health related issues. These dogs help suppress feelings of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and many other psychological issues one may encounter, by providing comfort for these individuals. The way they provide this comfort is unique in which it serves as an all-natural antidepressant. Dogs can sense when something isn’t right, and for people who struggle with these emotional hardships, it provides a sense of love and companionship. According to Christine Grove and Linda Henderson, two commonly known journalists for “The Conversation”, “An individual might be encouraged to gently pat or talk to a dog to teach sensitive touch and help them be calm” (Grove and Henderson). The physical feeling of the dog allows the individual struggling to have something to distract them during hard times. This can help someone struggling with anger mask that feeling and practice being gentle to alleviate those feelings. An emotional support dog can allow someone in school who is struggling to take a step back from whatever may be going through and give them a safe space to decompress.
A lot of times, people who struggle with mental health related problems often feel as if they are alone in this world. With the help of an emotional support dog, this gives these individuals a companion to vent to, love, and care for. Keeping busy when in a time of crisis can be crutial to someone in need. Being able to take care of a dog and have something to do to keep ones mind occupied during hard times is often necessary.
Helps with school work
For people who struggle with emotional and social issues, emotional support dogs can be extremely beneficial. These dogs are meant to provide comfort to individuals and with them being present on school grounds, this may be a new trend that will benefit a lot of students. According to Christine Grove and Linda Henderson,”, “In the wake of the school shootings in Florida, therapy dogs have been used as a way to provide comfort and support for students returning to school” (Grove and Henderson). In a time of extreme crisis these animals have been used to help alleviate the stress of coming back to school after this painful experience. But this is not the only thing that these dogs can provide for students. They also help with social interactions, home work, and attendance at school. Studies have found that dogs are providing emotional support to students by schools that are integrating them into their social-emotional programs. Due to these canines being at school, it reduces students stress levels by having the support of the animal there during tasks that may seem hard.
With the help of these dogs, students are getting the opportunity to learn through a different style and are becoming more comfortable with the way that they are being asked to do so. “Decreases in learner anxiety behaviors resulting in improved learning outcomes, such as increases in reading and writing levels” (Grove and Henderson). For students who struggle in school with social, test, or any other type of anxiety, these dogs can provide many benefits to them. This can give students the opportunity to let go of their triggers and start feeling more comfortability within themselves. Reading can be hard for some students, especially reading out loud. An elementary school in North Carolina has therapy dogs that provide comfort for these children while they read. These students read to these dogs to help practice reading out loud and help with their confidence. The children who are participating in these studies claim that whenever they have issues with their pronunciation, they don’t feel the sense of judgement that would typically be felt if it was a whole class listening to them. It has been shown that by reading to these dogs, these students want to read more often and gives them a sense of achievement and pride.
Although there may seem like a ton of benefits to emotional support dogs, there is also reasons as to why they should not be allowed as well.
Two reasons these furry friends shouldn’t be allowed in schools
Not effective- can cause issues in classrooms
The idea of having an emotional support dog can be amazing, but it also provides many risks that many aren’t aware of. Many people are allergic to canines and this can cause a huge issue if they are around in schools. The individuals allergic would not be able to be around these animals even if they are hypo-allergenic dogs. This can cause severe reactions and even cause some to need medical attention. Along with this risk, these animals can also be a distraction within a classroom. The thought of a dog in a classroom may seem like an amazing idea, but it can also cause children to not pay attention and have the reverse affect of what an emotional support dog is initially there for. These children can start to not learn to their full potential due to a dog being there roaming throughout the classroom. This can start to bring down their grades, attention span, and their ability to retain information. Dogs are unpredictable, since emotional support dogs aren’t the same as service dogs, this may cause issues within a classroom. According to Linda Jacobson, a well known author and reporter for Education drive, “Some parents might also express safety concerns, especially after reports of children being attacked by emotional support animals” (Jacobson). Dogs who aren’t well trained can have a short temperament and react dangerously around people. This can cause issues with putting students at risk of being injured at school. Along with the dangers of the animal in the classroom, there is also not a lot of research being having these dogs in classrooms. This offers a potential risk since there may be no concrete research behind the benefits of the animal. In order for this to be accepted within all schools, there needs to be more research done behind the benefits and potential dangers regarding these dogs.
Gets in the way of service dogs
According to The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), emotional support animals aren’t covered under it, whereas a service dog is. A service dog differs from an emotional support dog in which it provides for an individual with a disability and is allowed anywhere due to the needs of the person who is prescribed this animal. Service dogs go through extensive training that is geared towards the owner of the animal. Since these dogs serve as a function of help with a disability, emotional support dogs can get in the way of this function they are providing. Since emotional support dogs don’t need training to be one, their temperament and behavior can not only influence the service dog, but it can also distract the service animal from its duties. According to Wes Siler, a reporter for outside online, he has interviewed many people that have service dogs. One of the individuals he interviewed was a man named Randy Pierce, who has a service dog that helps him with his blindness. Randy stated that he was on a flight with a dog that was barking and influencing his service dog to act out and not perform his duties. With the dog on the flight distracting the service dog, it made it harder for the dog to do its job which then can create the dog to not protect Randy from barriers in the environment. Siler also interviewed a boy who has epileptic seizures. The boy uses a service dog to protect him from hitting his head during his episodes of seizures, if the service dog is distracted by the other dogs in the environment, this can cause it to not do its job that it’s there to do. With emotional support dogs in schools, if someone has a service dog at a school, this can cause for the service dog to lose focus and not do its job that it’s intended to.
Overall, the debate between the acceptance of emotional support dogs in school still stands today. The lack of research behind emotional support dogs being allowed in classrooms becomes hard to tell if this should be something that every school needs or shouldn’t have. There are both benefits to these dogs and downfalls which may cause underlying issues. The psychological and school work benefit can be a huge impact on classrooms around the world, but the issues that arise with these dogs can cause an uproar in our environment.
Works Cited:
CBSN, director. Therapy Dogs Help Improve Kids Reading. YouTube, YouTube, 24 July 2015, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRmVktOe9GA.
Grové, Christine, and Linda Henderson. “Therapy Dogs Can Help Reduce Student Stress, Anxiety and Improve School Attendance.” The Conversation, 23 Feb. 2019, theconversation.com/therapy-dogs-can-help-reduce-student-stress-anxiety-and-improve-school-attendance-93073.
“Service Animals.” ADA 2010 Revised Requirements: Service Animals, 2010, http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm.
Jacobson, Linda. “Dogs Go to School as Part of Social-Emotional Learning Programs.” Education Dive, 1 Mar. 2018, http://www.educationdive.com/news/dogs-go-to-school-as-part-of-social-emotional-learning-programs/518156/.
Siler, Wes. “Stop Faking Service Dogs.” Outside Online, 31 Aug. 2017, http://www.outsideonline.com/2236871/stop-faking-service-dogs.
Cosner Rhetoric 