# data[].attributes.headline
"Anything is Paws-ible: Animal-assisted Therapy in School-based Settings" (Family Therapy Magazine, Payne, 2024)

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"Anything is Paws-ible: Animal-assisted Therapy in School-based Settings" (Family Therapy Magazine, Payne, 2024)

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Family Therapy Magazine - American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

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Anything is Paws-ible: Animal-assisted Therapy in School-based Settings - Family Therapy Magazine

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American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

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"Bringing a Dog to School" (Edutopia, Feeney, 2018)

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"Bringing a Dog to School" (Edutopia, Feeney, 2018)

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A veteran teacher and administrator makes the case for having a therapy dog in elementary school.

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Mom fears school's new service dog policy endangers son with serious allergy (Everett, 2017) 

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Mom fears school's new service dog policy endangers son with serious allergy (Everett, 2017) 

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CHERRY HILL TWP. -- When Ashley Anne Misinkavitch brought her 5-year-old son to the Cherry Hill Public Library to meet with a reporter, she first had to stop by the front desk and ask a question she has asked hundreds of times before: Are there any dogs in here?

That's because Parker has an anaphylactic allergy to dogs that his mother said has put him in the hospital three times.

Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening, multi-system reaction that often includes difficulty breathing, hives and cardiac symptoms.

It's why she and Parker are concerned about the prospect of a service dog being allowed to go to school with a disabled student in the district.

"I'm still allergic to service dogs," said Parker, a kindergartener.

The Cherry Hill School District has had a policy allowing service dogs for years, but it said that other students' allergies, disabilities and health care plans should be considered before allowing the animal.

That policy seems likely to change, as the district is considering revisions that remove those provisions and make no mention of what will happen if another student has an allergy to dogs.

The revisions come after Cherry Hill High School East student Ben Shore, who has a service dog, informed the district that its policy conflicted with both state and federal law on several points.

Shore, 16, is on the autism spectrum and wants to bring his service dog, Charlie, to school. He has trained the goldendoodle himself, as allowed under the Americans with Disabilities Act, to do things to calm and distract him when he has a panic attack.

"I'm not trying to stop this kid from bringing his dog, but I'm just asking for other options," Misinkavitch said. The district needs to look at it on a case-by-case basis, she said. "This is the same as a service dog. They need to provide accommodation for him."

Misinkavitch addressed the Cherry Hill Board of Education when it first read the draft policy Jan. 10, presenting members with a letter on Parker's anaphylaxis from his allergist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

While it's unlikely Parker and Shore will ever be in the same building together, Misinkavitch is concerned about what might happen if a classmate gets a service dog or if her son gets on a bus that Shore has recently ridden with his dog. He takes Zyrtec daily, which his mother said helps him deal with limited, indirect exposures, but confined spaces are a problem.

She said Parker's most recent anaphylaxis was when he visited an arcade where a dog had been earlier. He had to be injected with two EpiPens, spent the night in the hospital and missed more than a week of school due to his lingering asthma.

Misinkavitch wants the school's policy to reflect what the ADA says: that a service dog can be removed when it poses a "direct threat" to the health and safety of others, if no other accommodations can help mitigate the threat.

The Department of Justice, which enforces the ADA, says that generally if someone is allergic to a service dog both people should be accommodated by moving them to "different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility."

Christopher Sweet of the Northeast ADA Center at Cornell University said that a school could remove a service dog under the direct threat clause of the ADA due to another child's anaphylaxis, but it should only be a last resort.

"The school would have to think about other accommodations, like isolating the students in different parts of the school or different classrooms," he said.

Shore's goldendoodle is a low-dander dog, but Dr. Lania-Howarth, head of the Division of Allergy/Immunology at Cooper University Health Care, said no dogs are completely hypoallergenic.

Misinkavitch said that she is disappointed that the draft policy does not mention the direct threat clause -- though it is still the law under the ADA -- and no longer says that other students' individual education plans, 504 disability plans or health care plans should be considered.

"By not including those stipulations the (school board) is essentially denying other students their rights and delegitimizing their care plans," she said. "People like my son, who have a life-threatening condition, are essentially told their lives don't matter. How is that fair?"

Misinkavitch also feels that her son's allergy qualifies as a disability so he shouldn't be treated any differently than a disabled student with a service dog.

Lania-Howarth said she does not consider an allergy to be disability. But a 2008 ADA amendment regarding students with disabilities says a student could be considered disabled if an allergy "substantially limits one or more of the major life activities," including breathing, regardless of whether medication could limit the reaction or mitigating measures could reduce the risk of exposure.

Policy issues remain

Shore is also unhappy with the drafted policy, though he is glad the district removed the language that said a service dog was only allowed with permission of teachers and the administration.

"It's good that they made it easier to bring a service dog, but it still adds unnecessary delays," he said.

The draft policy removes several elements that appeared to contradict federal and state law, like requiring proof of formal training and prohibiting dogs on buses, but still requires an "implementation plan."

It has two provisions that still seem to conflict with the ADA. It states that the dog must wear a service animal vest, which is not required under federal law, and says that the student's family must "maintain liability insurance for the service animal in the amount required by the Board of Education."

While the ADA does say that a handler can be held responsible for any damage or injury caused by a service dog, Sweet said requiring insurance is a financial barrier not allowed under the ADA.

"Using their interpretation one could assume that a pizza parlor or bowling alley could begin to ask for liability insurance as well," he said.

Shore said he plans to make his objections known at the Board of Education's meeting Jan. 24. The board will do a second reading of the draft policy and could vote on it.
Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Mom says service dog shouldn't trump son's serious allergy

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CHERRY HILL TWP. -- When Ashley Anne Misinkavitch brought her 5-year-old son to the Cherry Hill Public Library to meet with a reporter, she first had to stop by the front desk and ask a question she has asked hundreds of times before: Are there any dogs in here?

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"Therapy Animals in Schools and Education" (Husson University, 2025)

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"Therapy Animals in Schools and Education" (Husson University, 2025)

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Discover how therapy animals are used in schools to reduce stress, support learning, and improve student well-being. Explore careers with Husson’s AAT program.

# data[].attributes.headline
Therapy Dogs: Educator's Best Friend? (Flannery, 2025)

# data[].attributes.subject
Therapy Dogs: Educator's Best Friend? (Flannery, 2025)

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""Read with Archie the Therapy Dog" (WeAreTeachers, 2019)

# data[].attributes.subject
""Read with Archie the Therapy Dog" (WeAreTeachers, 2019)

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1S345s71dD0xjATDewzfiCrPmVau6ofafCIsydVn6i9I/edit?usp=sharing

# data[].attributes.headline
Can dogs reduce bullying in schools? (The Week, 2015)

# data[].attributes.subject
Can dogs reduce bullying in schools? (The Week, 2015)

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https://theweek.com/articles/481325/dogs-reduce-bullying-schools

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Educators across the country are using canines to teach compassion and social responsibility

# data[].attributes.headline
Making Comfort Dogs an Everyday Part of School (Flanagan, 2018)

# data[].attributes.subject
Making Comfort Dogs an Everyday Part of School (Flanagan, 2018)

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Making Comfort Dogs an Everyday Part of School | KQED

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Some schools, including a public high school in New York City, are embracing a program that allows comfort dogs on campus. Educators say the dogs’ regular presence helps soothe students and lighten the mood.

# data[].attributes.headline
Schools turn to dogs to ease student mental health crisis (Levin, 2022)

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Schools turn to dogs to ease student mental health crisis (Levin, 2022)

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https://newsela.com/read/dogs-schools-mental-health-crisis/id/2001028396/

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Newsela | Schools turn to dogs to ease student mental health crisis

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In many schools, dogs are offering emotional support to students.

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Dogs in the classroom improve SEL, Cognitive, and even Reading Skills (Mulvahill, 2019)

# data[].attributes.subject
Dogs in the classroom improve SEL, Cognitive, and even Reading Skills (Mulvahill, 2019)

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https://www.weareteachers.com/dogs-in-the-classroom/

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Dogs in the Classroom Improve SEL, Cognitive, and Even Reading Skills

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"For schools or nursing homes in need, Porkchop the therapy pig saves the day" (McLoughlin, 2022)

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"For schools or nursing homes in need, Porkchop the therapy pig saves the day" (McLoughlin, 2022)

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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"Stressed-out student? Get a dog (or cat, rabbit)" (Teproff, 2016).

# data[].attributes.subject
"Stressed-out student? Get a dog (or cat, rabbit)" (Teproff, 2016).

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https://newsela.com/read/pet-therapy/id/15988/

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Newsela | New campus darlings: Your pets