South Allegheny aims to make ‘pawsitive’ impact with new therapy dog Gladdy

Gladdy, a Cavapoo, had her first official day “on the job” at South Allegheny Middle School on Wednesday.

Swarms of students surrounded South Allegheny’s new therapy dog Gladdy on Wednesday during the furry employee’s first day on the job at South Allegheny Middle High School.

Gladdy, a Cavapoo, will provide emotional support and comfort to students across all South Allegheny schools, and students and faculty were more than happy to welcome him to the team. Superintendent David McDonald has been working and training with Gladdy for months and finally brought him to the district on Wednesday.

“When you see a dog, you just naturally put a smile on your face, especially if it’s a friendly dog,” McDonald said. “And I think it’s just another layer of us trying to create an environment and a culture that we want within the South Allegheny School District.

“We want a place that kids are running into and not necessarily running out of. It’s another reason to give adults and kids excitement to be here every day, and that’s what we’re trying to build.”

Gladdy is a fully certified therapy dog and an AKC Canine Good Citizen, which means he’s perfectly fit for the job. Gladdy has undergone a lot of training, but Mc-Donald, who is his main caretaker, had to go through some training himself.

“I went down a couple of months ago and spent a day with him and began my initial training,” McDonald said, “and I think that’s the part of the story that people don’t understand. He is so highly regimented and trained that it’s really me going through the training not to mess him up, and it’s him training me.”

McDonald said he spent some time training with a professional trainer on Tuesday and was expecting to have a trainer further help him on Wednesday while Gladdy was on the job at the school.

McDonald took Gladdy for a walk in the hallways of the high school, and he was immediately met with a crowd of students trying to pet him. The benefits of having Gladdy on the Gladiator team were obvious as he immediately put smiles on the faces of students.

Gladdy himself has gone through extensive training, which includes being in public spaces like schools. McDonald added that he’s working with district psychologists to bring Gladdy to the high school and elementary schools.

“I’ll work with him some days, and then other days, I’ll take him down to the elementary and give him to our school psychologist down there,” he said. “And then she’ll spend some hours with him in classrooms, then come back up and we’ll take a break, and then maybe spend the afternoon in the high school.”

McDonald said they were able to bring Gladdy to the district thanks to the sponsorship from the law firm Maiello Brungo & Maiello, LLP, which also represents the district.

“We are incredibly grateful to Maiello Brungo & Maiello for their partnership and generosity,” Mc-Donald said. “Gladdy is already showing the potential to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our students, and we look forward to the joy and support he’ll bring to our buildings.”

McDonald said that the district had been thinking about getting a therapy dog for a while, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, that came together with Gladdy.

“You see, the post-COVID support that kids need, from a social standpoint, it was one of those things that became important to me, that I think it was something that we needed to offer in our district,” he said.