COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A Coeur d’Alene school has a therapy dog in training.
His name is Blue and he’s a 13-week-old Bernedoodle. He walks the halls of Winton Elementary with his human, Erin Duncan.
Duncan is a behavioral support assistant at Winton. She said when she got Blue she knew he was special.
"So happy he came into my life when he did. He's been a real gift to me on a personal level,” Duncan said.
Duncan said she had a desire to share Blue with her coworkers and students. But, she wanted to make sure she went about it the right way. Working with the district, they're making sure Blue can qualify as a therapy animal at Winton. The only such therapy dog in the district, according to Duncan.
"I can't even tell you how different it is when I walk into work with him," Duncan said.
The hope is that Blue will help people reduce stress and anxiety. She's currently studying social work at Lewis Clark State and plans to use Blue as part of an educational study in the fall.
Being a therapy dog, she says the goal is always to have Blue around all the time and have him be a full-time member of the Winton Community. He's there to help improve lives.