Therapy Dog Program

Therapy Dogs At Dansville Central Schools

Parents, Teachers and especially Students love our Therapy Dogs at all 3 school buildings!

Dansville Central School District implemented a pilot Therapy Dog Program in 2018.  Over the years since, many therapy dogs and their teacher/counselor handlers participated in intensive training with a credentialed dog behavior specialist.  At the end of each dog's training regimen, during which they must meet specific performance criteria and qualified dogs are certified by the School Board to serve as therapy dogs. The district has therapy dogs in each building.  

Dansville therapy dogs and handlers contribute to ongoing efforts to improve school climate.  Our therapy dogs are used to teach children kindness, compassion and responsibility.  Spending one-on-one time with a therapy dog is often used as a performance incentive with students.  Teachers and counselors frequently call upon therapy dogs and their handlers to visit with children experiencing a wide range of challenges.

The therapy dog program in Dansville is wildly popular with students, parents and employees.  The program has been celebrated in live broadcasts, news articles, and most recently at the New York State School Boards Association Convention in October 2023.

At the convention, superintendents and board members from around the state got to hear about how our students interact with therapy dog-handler teams and learn about how the dogs contribute to our work with children.  Program design and implementation were discussed.  Liability mitigation was thoroughly examined.  Policy and regulation documents have been developed in close collaboration with our legal team and an independent dog behavior specialist.  These documents are tools that were shared for use by school boards interested in exploring and/or replicating our therapy dog program in their districts. 

For more information about our Therapy Dog Program, contact the District Office:  (585) 335-4000