BILLINGS — The Billings School District has introduced three comfort dogs to middle schools to assist with improving students' mental health.
Rob Vickery is the school resource officer for Medicine Crow and Castle Rock middle schools and brings his eight-month-old Newfoundland dog, Indy, to work nearly each day. He first proposed the idea to the district and police department several months ago when he saw there was a need for the animals.
"One of the things we've learned is that kids in Montana, the youth in Montana, there's a mental health crisis, and trying to find ways to help them in the schools, we came up with the idea of having a service dog or what we call a comfort dog to help the kids when they're having a bad day or struggling,” said Vickery.
According to the National Institutes of Health, therapy dogs have been proven to help reduce stress, anxiety, problematic behaviors, and help improve learning. Comfort dogs are different from therapy dogs, as comfort dogs do not need specific training to be certified. Vickery said he has done a lot of work with Indy to get him comfortable with people.
“Indy loves school. He's one of those special dogs that he loves people, and he loves being around people, so bringing him to school is pretty easy," said Vickery.
The program is funded by the school resource officers as the dogs they purchased are their own personal pets. Vickery bought Indy in May as a puppy, and he has now grown to 105 pounds. Each day, they usually hang out in the hallways between classes so any student can pet and talk with the dog. He has already noticed a change in both students and staff.
"I've had several times where I've had kids come into my office that they're taking a break from class because they're having a rough day and say, 'Can I pet your dog?' They know, 'Hey, if you're having a bad day, come in. You just take five minutes, then we can get back to work.' It's been very successful,” said Vickery.
One of Medicine Crow's school counselors, Haley Hert, has also enjoyed having Indy at the school and tries to visit him as often as she can.
“I pretty much run to him in the mornings when I see Vickery here with Indy. My coworkers make fun of me because I sit on the floor and pet him," joked Hert. "It's wonderful having him here.”
The dog was especially helpful during last week's school shooting threat. While it was not credible, the event still caused stress among students.
“What happened last week was horrible, but what was nice was Indy was out there. There's a lot of kids that probably were really stressed out and a lot going on in their minds, but they won't say anything, but they still come up to the dog and pet the dog. And at least for a few minutes, it takes their mind off of it," said Vickery.
Indy has also proven to be the best icebreaker. Vickery has noticed that students feel more comfortable to approach him with problems when they have that first interaction with him and the dog.
“They get to get introduced to me under a non-stressful event, just petting the dog. It gives them a higher comfort level," said Vickery.
For even just a few minutes, petting Indy will guarantee to put a smile on anyone's face.
“Dogs in general, they're such pure souls. Having one here that the kids get to love on is really awesome," said Hert. "It's a great thing for the school and for the kids and for the staff. We all love Indy.”
The other two dogs are Targhee, an English yellow lab at Lewis and Clark Middle School, and Huck, a mini Golden Doodle at Riverside Middle School. The officers have taken the dogs to several elementary schools and hope to grow the program to reach all schools in the district.
