Brecksville-Broadview Heights Elementary welcomes therapy dog

by Martin McConnell

The Brecksville city school district has introduced a furry friend to go along with the brand new elementary school building. The school’s new therapy dog, a chocolate-colored Labrador retriever known as Cocoa, now roams the halls of the new building.

Tina McCauley is one of Cocoa’s handlers and the first through third grade principal at the new school. As a self-proclaimed “co-mom” of Cocoa, McCauley has the added job of managing the dog’s day during the school week.

“Our superintendent, Joelle Maygar, it was her idea to have a therapy dog for the social and emotional support of students in the district,” McCauley said. “She used our safety and security grant money to support having Cocoa.”

In addition to walking the halls of the school each day, Cocoa has set appointments with certain students. Any student that might be having struggles at school emotionally can schedule for an appointment with the dog.

“We have a couple students that have high anxiety about being at school, so they meet with her,” McCauley said. “I have an actual calendar schedule with her where she has certain times where she meets with different kids.”

McCauley noted that Cocoa is also good for faculty and staff to have around, and the students are free to pet her if they see her in the hallways. Cocoa serves as somewhat of a mascot for the school, and acts as a calming presence for anyone in the building who might need it.

“We did state testing the last two days, and I took her around to the teachers before the testing,” McCauley said. “When she’s not needed for a student, she’s out and about with all the students. … The kids love her.”

Cocoa mostly stays around the elementary school, but she does travel to the middle school and high school on occasion.

“Because she’s the district’s therapy dog, our superintendent took her up for testing week during the high school testing,” McCauley explained.

The training process for Cocoa was extensive. At only 10 months old, Brecksville elementary’s favorite Labrador is already fully trained, even going away for a full month of training at Hiram, Ohio’s “Excel K9” service program.

“[As] part of the training as she was a puppy, their big thing was socialization,” McCauley said. “Being outside on the playground, the noise, and the whole group of kids, it doesn’t phase her. … I’d take her for walks by outdoor malls and it was a lot of positive reinforcement and treats.”

The new school also comes with a built-in dog washing station for Cocoa on the second floor. McCauley explained that the washing station is built right across from the school’s multi-handicap unit, and will be used in an effort to teach the students skills they can use in the future.

“Our goal is that those kids will help us bathe her,” McCauley said. “We bathed her about two weeks ago after school, because we didn’t know how she would [behave]. We were skeptical, but we bathed her.”

This December, the school will celebrate Cocoa’s first birthday. The birthday party will coincide with the school’s Christmas party, right before winter break. A pajama party is being planned, complete with hot “cocoa” for students to celebrate the dog’s birthday. “Her demeanor, she is so calm,” McCauley said. “She’s still a puppy, she still gets into things, but she’s just a great addition.”