Students, staff hope to get Millie the therapy dog back at Fargo South High – InForum

FARGO — Two library employees and several students appeared before the Fargo Board of Education recently to make a case for the return of a therapy dog to their school.

Librarian Elizabeth Smithmeyer and Library Assistant Beth Martin told board members on Tuesday, Nov. 26, that “Millie” became a fixture at Fargo South High School during the 2023-2024 school year.

Under Martin’s tutelage, Millie would visit staff before the start of the school day and hang out in the school library for a few hours on every Wellness Wednesday.

“We’ve always tried to make a welcoming, comfortable, safe environment for students and so she really has enhanced that.” Smithmeyer told board members.

Martin, who is Millie’s handler, said the most heartening thing is the impact the therapy dog has had on students and staff.

“It went above and beyond what I ever expected it would,” Martin told the board, adding that many students refer to Millie as “our dog.”

A five-year-old Bernedoodle, or combination Bernese mountain dog and poodle, Millie is known for her chill demeanor.

She’s been there for students experiencing a mental health crisis, and was even brought in as a calm presence earlier this fall

after several bomb threats disrupted the first few days of the new school year at South.

But a discussion over insurance not long after that put a hold on Millie’s appearances, until the school district could firm up its policy for therapy dogs.

Smithmeyer and Martin hope to get Millie reinstated at South, and that a districtwide policy for therapy dogs can be developed.

Millie is an official therapy dog through the American Kennel Club, and certified along with Martin as a team through Pet Partners to deal with even the most complex situations.

The dog was allowed only in certain areas of the school, so that anyone who didn’t want to interact with her didn’t have to.

Smithmeyer said Martin had no trouble doing her job while Millie was present.

“I’ll often see Beth at her desk, checking in books and there’ll be kids on the floor right around Millie, pouring out their little hearts to her,” Smithmeyer said.

South High administrators would have been on hand for the board meeting but were attending Fargo South’s Hall of Fame activities that evening, Smithmeyer said.

She said administrators have noticed the positive benefits Millie brought to students and staff at South.

“This became increasingly clear once she was removed from the building,” Smithmeyer said.

Several students spoke at the board meeting, and others submitted handwritten notes on Millie’s behalf.

One student said traffic to the library increased when Millie was there, even causing them to check out and read more books.

Smithmeyer noted that the public school districts in West Fargo, Grand Forks and Northern Cass in Hunter, North Dakota have therapy dog programs in place.

She said there would be no cost to Fargo Public Schools. She added that she and Martin hope to use a donation to cover the cost of Millie’s insurance policy going forward.

Board President Katie Christensen Mineer said the issue will be brought to the district’s governance committee meeting in December.

“I know that the district is listening to you and putting a lot of time and effort into discussions about this,” Christensen Mineer said.