Tora

ELKINS — West Virginia’s First Lady Cathy Justice will personally introduce a new therapy dog to students at Elkins High School Friday.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the First Lady’s Friends With Paws initiative, EHS would receive one of seven therapy dogs being placed in schools across West Virginia this fall.

Justice will take part in and EHS “Pup Rally” Friday where she will introduce Tora, a female Yellow Labrador, to students at the school. The event will take place at 1:30 p.m. before the school’s Homecoming Pep Rally.

The Friends With Paws program places certified therapy dogs in various CIS (Communities In Schools) schools across the state.

“Starting on Friday, Tora will be at school everyday,” Mark Rosencrance, CIS Site Coordinator at EHS, told The Inter-Mountain Monday. “The idea behind her being at the school is to kind of be there for support for students.” 

The Friends With Paws Program is a partnership between the Governor’s Office, West Virginia CIS, and the West Virginia Department of Education.

“Because we have a Community in Schools Program, we were allowed to apply for the Friends with Paws program,” said Rosencrance. “We went through an interview process and had to come up with four handlers to take care of the dog. Myself and three others are going through training for that this week.”

Rosencrance, Tim Patrick, Katie Preusch and Aaron Talbott will be the handlers for Tora. Patrick and Preusch are both teachers at EHS, while Talbott is a guidance counselor. Patrick is the primarily handler for the dog and will take it home at night.

“All four of us will be responsible for taking care of the dog once it gets to school every day,” said Rosencrance. “We will be incorporating it into things each day, like one of us will be taking it to the homecoming dance this weekend.”

Rosencrance said Tora will be useful in a variety of different things at the school, including attendance issues and providing companionship for students.

“We’ve had a dip in attendance since the pandemic, so we are trying to raise awareness with kids and families to get back to school more,” Rosencrance said. “So hopefully Tora will help with that concept – even if it’s just getting a kid to come to school to see her. But also ongoing, if we have a kid who is emotionally upset about something or having an issue with something, maybe Tora can be that therapeutic moment for the student that day.”

Therapy dogs are placed in schools where students are disproportionately affected by poverty, substance misuse, or other at-risk situations. The dogs serve as a healthy and friendly outlet for students to address trauma and other social-emotional issues.

With seven new therapy dogs going out to school’s this fall, the total number in West Virginia schools will grow to 19. The program was first announced in the spring of 2022.