NEWBURYPORT — Seven therapy dogs, including a 3-month-old yellow lab named Verbena, descended on Newburyport High School library Thursday afternoon to give students a welcome break.
The popular pooches were brought to the school thanks to its student-led Bring Change 2 Mind Club, whose members wanted to give their classmates a chance to relax ahead of next week’s midterm exams.
As far as junior Alexis Smith was concerned, the mission was a terrific success.
“I feel like I’ve just entered heaven,” she said. “They’re so cute. I love them all.”
Bring Change 20 Mind is a nationwide organization created to help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health in schools, as well as provide students with support and resources.
The Newburyport High chapter works to help to improve the school’s willingness to provide resources, as well as talk about mental health.
President and NHS junior Cassidy Bolcome said her club partnered with New York-based Guiding Eyes for the Blind and the Wyoming-based Alliance for Therapy Dogs to bring the puppies to school Thursday and Friday afternoon, free of charge.
Students could take some time during their lunch period to go to the library and visit with them.
“We know midterms can be a particularly stressful time for students and we all pride ourselves in doing the best we can do here,” Bolcome said. “So, we know that students are going to be very stressed out this week. What better way to alleviate that than with dogs?”
The organization’s Vice President Kayley Simons said she had been studying for her statistics exam just before the dogs arrived.
“To come down here and pet dogs took a lot of weight off my shoulders, knowing that I didn’t have to keep looking at math,” she said. “It’s a good way to end the school week.”
Guiding Eyes for the Blind puppy raiser Chur Masors had Verbena with her, a particularly big hit among the dogs.
With an overabundance of love and licks to give, the puppy ended up winning the hearts of just about everyone in the library.
“We do get a lot of attention,” Masors said. “We’ve even had people who are allergic to dogs come over and pet her.”
Freshman Lauren LaRosa got a serious licking about the face from Verbena. She said it was a wonderful experience.
“I love dogs,” she said. “I’d like to take her home with me.”
Smith had visited with five other dogs before heading over to see Verbena.
“It’s not very often that you get to be surrounded by a bunch of dogs,” she said.
Alliance for Therapy Dogs handler Charles Frederick Collins brought along with him a 7-year-old English cream Golden Retriever named Bingo, who was having a wonderful time herself.
“It was a little overwhelming at first but she settled right in,” he said. “Most of the places that we go are nursing homes. So this is a lot different. But she loves kids and she’ll rest well when she gets home.”
The organization has brought dogs to the high school before and Bolcome said they’re always a big hit. She added her club hopes to bring the therapy dogs back before final exams at the end of the school year.
“It’s only noon and we’ve had probably 50 or so kids come down,” Bolcome said.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.