WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As college students and workers members at colleges throughout the nation attempt to come to grips with the tragedy in Texas, one Palm Beach County public college already has some additional help on campus.

There are greater than 2,300 college students at Forest Hill Community High School in West Palm Beach, however there’s one who carry smiles, happiness, and luxury wherever she goes.

Her title is Ms. Ellie Mae, a licensed remedy canine.

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“Usually I’ll hear it on the radio. Heidi, bring Ms. Ellie Mae here. Bring Ms. Ellie Mae there,” mentioned college treasurer Heidi Watkoski, the dear pet’s proprietor. “Between staff and students, she has helped both.”

While Watkoski is Ellie Mae’s authorized proprietor, the remedy canine actually belongs to the entire college.

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“I came in one day and there was a dog here. And I was like, why is there a dog here?” mentioned pupil Gabby Killingsworth.

Killingsworth is one among Ms. Ellie Mae’s greatest followers.

“The warmth of her body makes me relax a little bit and makes me think, oh, I’m going to be OK. Everything’s going to be fine,” Killingsworth mentioned.

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It’s that connection that Principal Esther Rivera knew was wanted after a yr of COVID-19, a excessive fee of absences, and emotional struggles.

“I came to [Heidi] and said, would you be interested in getting it certified to be a service dog and come to work with you every day to assist our students?” Rivera mentioned.

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And Ms. Ellie Mae is making a distinction.

“Our fights, our altercations have decreased dramatically,” Rivera mentioned. “We really don’t have disciplinary issues here. And additionally, students requesting help has increased.”

“Ellie Mae, she saw me crying and all she did was get a toy and brought it to me and jumped on me saying, you know what? I’m here for you to change your world and make you forget what’s going on at home,” mentioned pupil Jasmyn Robinson.

Those moments can change the course of a day, every week, even a faculty yr.

“I have crippling anxiety where I shake a lot in class or right now,” mentioned pupil Annie Akther. “So Ellie Mae helps me a lot. And I would go to her just to find comfort and some peacefulness.”

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And as we come to grips with one other tragedy on a faculty campus in our nation, Ellie Mae’s 4 paws might help greater than she might notice.

“These factors like a shooting, different things happening in society, do affect student absences,” Rivera mentioned. “So having Ellie Mae on campus, that emotional support dog, it truly provides students that outlet to come to school and feel safe.”

“You feel like you cannot really worry about those things because your whole focus is on her at the moment,” Akther mentioned.

So on the troublesome days, these college students do not underestimate the facility of stomach rub.

“She’s my best friend,” mentioned pupil Ashley Bissoon.

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As a part of a current psychological well being occasion at Forest Hill Community High School, college students have been in a position to enroll to spend time with Ellie Mae as a part of their schedule.

Watkoski has additionally taken Ellie Mae to go to college students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland — the positioning of a lethal mass taking pictures in 2018 — and will likely be a part of a remedy canine group on the Broward County Courthouse when the sentencing trial begins for Nikolas Cruz.