INDIANAPOLIS— On Friday afternoon, students at Lowell Montessori are getting to spend some time with MJ.
MJ is a five-month-old Basset Hound who is training to be a therapy dog at the school.
“She’s working the whole time she’s here,” said Principal Christine Rembert, who also owns MJ. “If children need to see her — and we’ve had adults who have been upset."
Rembert said she was inspired to bring a therapy dog into her school after seeing the positive impact they had at other schools. She believes MJ can play an important role in the Martindale-Brightwood community.
“Our students have a lot of needs, and if MJ can help bridge that gap in any way, I’m happy she’s able to do that.”
Students see her in the hallways, principal's office and sometimes she visits them when they're reading.
“It makes me happy that kiddos are able to learn about empathy, that there are other living beings, that she is her own dog,” Rembert said.
She also uses MJ as a teaching tool with staff.
“When I talk about the things I’m doing with her — that I am calm and assertive — that’s what we want in classrooms as well,” Rembert said. “We want teachers to be calm and assertive with students.”
Rembert said she enjoyed watching her students connect with MJ.
“She reaches children and adults in ways that I can’t,” she said.
