Central Dauphin High School has added a furry companion to its staff.
Nala, a 9-month-old Australian Labradoodle, was adopted to serve as a therapy dog for students at the school in West Hanover Township. She came in January from Ultimate Canine, a dog-training agency in Indiana.
Training began at birth for Nala, with temperament testing done before she was brought to CDHS for staff members to learn her commands.
The school says that Nala will help to comfort the large population of students in need of assistance while dealing with personal issues.
Nala’s breed is hypoallergenic, meaning students are less likely to be allergic. Labradoodles also have a demeanor and attitude that’s suitable for the school environment and dealing with kids.
Nala spends her off time at home with Jusin Newkam, CDHS assistant principal. During school hours, she may be roaming hallways, stopping by the lunch room or visiting classrooms.
Teacher Amanda Brady is one of the many people on staff trained to handle Nala during school hours. Nala “just wants you to snuggle her, she’s like ‘Oh you got hands? You know what to do, just pet me’. She just wants to be around people,” Brady said.
Brady adds that the response has been great among students, many stopping to pet her whenever they can.
To show Nala appreciation, staff members give the dog kind words and treats for doing a good job.
“Right now, we are still working on getting more teacher trained to be able to take her around while learning her commands so that she can go out and about more,” Brady said.
Once more staff is trained, Nala will visit other schools throughout the district for therapeutic support of students.
The plan for access to Nala is that teachers can sign up for her to come and visit their classrooms.