According to Mayo Clinic, people with health problems are not the only ones who benefit from pet therapy; family members and friends who sat in on animal visits also felt better.

“In early nursing, I was in a hospital setting: labor and delivery,” Tucker said. “We did long-term patient care for pregnant ladies that were in for long periods of time. We always enjoyed when the pet therapy dogs came. It was for the patients, but the staff even responded to it; we loved it. You’re in the hospital, you’re cooped up. It would make the world of difference when we had pet therapy day.”

Tucker said a pet therapy dog has to have a specific personality and must be calm and willing to be around people and kids for a long period of time.

Paws for People also states that interacting with pet therapy animals decreases anxiety and provides a focus for attention, while also promoting feelings of safety.

“So someone comes in here, has an elevated pulse, they’re anxious, they’re upset about a situation,” Tucker said. “She greets everybody that comes in here. They’ll love on her, play with her, start playing [with] the ball. Heart rates go down; emotions get better. They’re proven to help people talk, so they’ll get more comfortable in here. Sometimes they don’t even want to talk, they just want to come in, interact with her--not even talk to me about their problems. Just through play, they’ll feel better.”

Tucker said Charlie serves not only the students, but the staff of Canyon High as well.

“I’ve seen them use her as a reward,” Tucker said. “For good behavior, they get to have Charlie in the class. Mrs. Bennett took her outside, and as they read, they got to interact with Charlie as well. Mr. Culbert loves her to come down. With the TLC kids, they love her. They love to love on her; it just helps with the emotional psyche. I can’t say it enough, it just makes people happy.”