By: Rebecca Hudson
Murray County News Staffwriter
The Murray County Central school community has welcomed its newest staff member: Rebel the King Charles Cavalier puppy, who is joining his handler, Mary Beech, in the school counseling center. The year old dog will be working mainly in the high school but will be in the elementary school on occasion, school counselor Beech says.
The notion of a school therapy dog came to the counselor when reflecting on the ten years she has left in her school career. “I want to keep that time fresh and not in a downhill slide,” Beech says with a laugh explaining how she came up with the inspiration.
From the volumes of studies and published articles it is no secret that therapy dogs can have a significant impact on children and what better environment than a school setting, she thought. From cognitive to social, physical, and emotional assistance, a therapy dog’s value is immeasurable, Beech found as she learned more about them.
And so she went in search of a gentle-natured breed that would be good with kids, and discovered that local breeder Penny Platt had such with a litter of King Charles Cavalier puppies. When she first visited them, Rebel came right up and sat on her lap and Beech knew that he was just the dog for the job.
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