WYOMING, Mich. — Over 380 students at North Godwin Elementary School are getting some help with relaxation and reducing stress—thanks to a special furry friend named Meeka.
"She's nice to pet. And when you're having a bad day, she helps you have a better day and when you take a break for her for a couple of minutes, she lets you go back to learning," said fifth grade student Drew Hill.
Two months ago Meeka was brought into the building to help students reduce their anxiety and encourage learning. This comes after more than half of parents at the school said they were concerned about their children's mental state. Students say Meeka's helped them a lot, especially with schoolwork.
"I get happy when I see Meeka and I always want to pet her. My math was super hard. But then Meeka came, and when I take a break for her for a few minutes, my math get really easy," said Hill.
"Like whenever we have time was like, always pet her in the hallways quickly. So I always see kids pet her when they're walking, like at the end of the day, because that's the time where we usually get to pet Meeka," said fifth grade student Adeline Whittington.
Priority Health developed a statewide program partnering with Canines for Change, called Priority Pups—which allows dogs like Meeka to be placed in schools. Canines for Change said dogs are a great way for students to decompress from their day.
"I think kids gravitate to dogs in general, most kids want to pet them. The goldendoodles have that great, you know, curly coat and the kids wanted to get their fingers in it and pet them. And, you know, research shows that even touching a dog reduces your blood pressure and releases endorphins and all that good stuff," said Canines for Change founder Nikki Brown.
The school's social worker said Meeka has given students a positive outlet.
"So Meeka is busy all day every day. She loves to spend time in small groups. When students are just having a difficult time, they ask their teachers for breaks. They come down and they spend a little bit of time with Meeka, sometimes they want to talk about it and other times they don't. And I think Meeka is a great outlet for that expression," said school social worker and Meeka's handler, Kaleigh Salata.
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