By Gwen Sour, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
WEST UNION, W.Va. — First Lady Cathy Justice visited Doddridge County’s Back-To-School Bash Thursday to welcome the state’s newest therapy dog through the Friends With Paws program.
Doddridge County High School is the 33rd recipient of a therapy dog through the program, Chloe, a golden retriever.
Friends With Paws partners with Ultimate Canine, a dog training company based out of Indiana, to source all their therapy dogs.
Justice helped bring Friends With Paws to all 55 counties in West Virginia to partner with an existing program called Communities in Schools. Communities in Schools is a program that has the mission statement to foster and create healthy environments between adults and youth, typically, on a one-to-one basis.
“We have a site coordinator in each school and this person serves like a second mother of the school,” Justice said. “If something’s bothering you, if you need help with homework, if you need help getting to practice, this person is located in the school and they’re there to help you do everything … the Friends With Paws is a spin-off of Communities in Schools. We decided that what better way to introduce kids coming to school than to have a therapy dog in the school.”
