Dogs sense students' stress at Whippany school

HANOVER – When students at the Calais school arrive at school each day, they are greeted by Cali, a Rhodesian Ridgeback who calmly walks up to each child and subtly sniffs their breath to check for signs of the stress hormone cortisol.

If any students give off a cortisol scent, Cali is trained to delicately lean away while staring at the person, a move unnoticeable to most besides her handler, Casey Butler, who is tipped off to the stressed student and walks over to help.

"I'll go up to the student and say, 'Hey, Cali told me you're stressed. And they usually say, 'How did she know?" Butler said. "They love Cali. In the morning Cali gets 80 hellos, I get maybe three or four."

Butler can then calm the student down, and provide them the extra attention they need, particularly with "school-phobic" students in the morning.

"A dog is non-judgmental. They're not critical beings, they don't tell kids they're wrong," Butler said. "So some kids just spill their guts to Cali. They relax with her around."

The Calais School is a pre-K to 12-plus school for special needs. Many of the school's 80-plus students are on the autism spectrum. Others suffer from anxiety and mood disorders or emotional difficulties.

Butler and Cali, along with new additions this year Lara Ferment and Cleo the beagle, assist with the school's behavioral plan. The service dogs help relax the students, and encourage them to do better.

The dogs move around from classroom to classroom within the school, and even have their own special office in the building.

Calais Executive Director David Leitner said no other school in the country has a program like this.

"We used to have volunteers come in a couple times a month with well-behaved dogs, not service dogs," Leitner said. "But, for example, reading teachers don't just come in a couple times a month. So we decided to advance a nice activity to something that's a clinical component of our daily program."

The dogs were provided by the New Jersey nonprofit Merlin's Kids, which specializes in providing service dogs for animal adaptive therapy.

Bulter and Ferment are both trained in animal adaptive therapy, in addition to teaching and canine behavior rehabilitation.

Cali and Cleo have two very different roles at the school. Cali works primarily as behavioral intervention, using her cortisol detection skills. In addition to her normal schedule, Cali is also on call to assist with any student meltdowns during the day. Sometimes, her presence is enough to calm the situation.

Cleo is more hands on, helping students their occupational therapy, speech, and reading. She has a special vest that helps kids practice their motor skills, working with snaps, buttons and zippers.

"The kids have a relationship with her. They respect her," Ferment said. "And they don't want to hurt her, so they practice before they try the vest with her in it, which makes them want to do better."

Ferment said kids are rewarded for following the rules, and many choose reading to Cleo and Cali – something that is already part of the curriculum – as their special treat.

"They just want time for them to be themselves with their buddy," Ferment said.

Leitner said students that typically resist reading one to two pages read 15 to 16 with Cleo.

"Without a service dog, kids tend to resist occupational therapy," Leitner said. "But with the dogs they look forward to it."

Leitner said about one third of parents of children at Calais said they chose the school based on the animal adaptive therapy program.

Principal Diane Manno said Cali and Cleo improve the school environment for everyone at Calais.

"They help the students, help the staff," Manno said. "It keeps the day stable and keeps students happy and motivated, able to focus and wanting to be here."

Manno credits Butler and Ferment with the success of the program.

"They're trained professionals, certified handlers and also teachers," Manno said. And they have to be the ones to speak for the dogs. The dogs are only as good as they are."

Both handlers had more than 1,000 hours of training before entering the school.

"It's a lot, but it's worth it," Ferment said.

A third dog, Cali's twin, is currently in training.

"We're looking into adding a third dog so they don't burn out," Leitner said. "These dogs have a job and they work very hard. That's why Cleo was needed this year."

The dogs are trained for a specific purpose, and when their service dog vests are on, they're focused on the job. But when the vest comes off, they act like normal dogs.

"Cleo and Cali are very good friends," Ferment said. "They have play dates together all the time."

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@dailyrecord.com