<\/p>\n
With a helping paw, Miles and Oscar have reached out to more than 100 area elementary school children, and the furry 100-plus pound beasts couldn\u2019t be happier.<\/p>\n
Licensed animal therapy dogs, Miles and Oscar helped calm Trent Davis when he was an out-of-control third-grader. The dogs were friends, and they didn\u2019t judge him, said the now 14-year-old.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was with the dogs, they didn\u2019t treat me unfairly,\u201d Davis said. \u201cThey liked being with me. It was really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the help of his friends \u2014 Miles, an 11-year-old giant, but tender black Labrador mountain dog mix; and Oscar, a curious 9-year-old pure chocolate lab \u2013 Davis said he\u2019s able to better control his anger today. He doesn\u2019t explode anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t had any outbursts, or whatever you want to call them, in a couple of years,\u201d said the Montezuma-Cortez High School freshman. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve made the most friends ever, six or seven just in this first quarter. That\u2019s more friends than I had all of last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time he was 10 years old, Davis said he was on the brink. He had pushed desks over, ripped books apart, smashed classroom windows and demolished a principal\u2019s office. The police were called. Then he got expelled for the third time.<\/p>\n
For Davis, it was difficult to control his emotions. He would lose his temper over the smallest incident, especially if he thought he was being underhanded.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertain things would just cross the line, you know,\u201d Davis said. \u201cIf I didn\u2019t get what I wanted, then I\u2019d go over the edge.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Davis\u2019 classroom teacher at the time, Jessica Spencer witnessed Miles\u2019 and Oscar\u2019s impact first-hand. She described the interactions as \u201cimmediate incredible changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the dogs in the room, students calm down instantly,\u201d she said. \u201cThe kids relax.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven students in all-out, full-blown tantrums: the dogs are able to de-escalate the situation within minutes,\u201d she continued. \u201cIt\u2019s an extremely effective tool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owner of Miles and Oscar, Mark Holton is one of the community\u2019s biggest advocates for kids in trauma, and he\u2019s able to achieve consistent results, said Spencer, who now oversees the animal-assisted counseling program for the Montezuma-Cortez School District.<\/p>\n
\u201cMark is a very positive face for those kids who don\u2019t have much of anything positive in their lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Offering a unique, specialized therapy, Holton said most students form instant connections with his tongue-hanging, tail-wagging friends.<\/p>\n
Based on proven cognitive behavior therapy techniques, his aim is to aid children suffering from trauma, and Miles and Oscar are there every step of the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI call it cognitive behavior animal-assisted therapy,\u201d Holton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kids learn to build trust,\u201d he explained. \u201cThey learn to attach to something. They learn to nurture. They learn to be responsible for something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Educated at the University of Dayton in Ohio with a bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology and the University of Santa Monica with a master\u2019s degree in counseling psychology, Holton saw the power of persuasion via pets after launching a previous dog-exercising venture.<\/p>\n
He remembered it was odd for complete strangers to hand over house keys and security codes within 15 minutes of meeting, all because they trusted him as a dog handler.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing how quickly that trust was garnered was the beginning,\u201d Holton said.<\/p>\n
Following the discovery of trust brought on by dogs, the licensed therapist decided to make a greater impact on society. It was a new venture, but he leashed up his dogs, escaped the drab office and set out to unleash children\u2019s fears.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids began to attach,\u201d he recalled. \u201cIt worked great.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Holton trained the duo himself in just a couple of months, Miles and Oscar completed their Delta Society animal therapy certification in 2008.<\/p>\n
\u201cLots of behavior reinforcement and treats\u201d were required, Holton said, laughing.<\/p>\n
That same positive reinforcement used to train the dogs is ultimately bestowed onto the children, Holton said.<\/p>\n
He previously worked for a decade in a traditional clinical setting without Miles and Oscar\u2019s assistance. Since, Holton said he\u2019s witnessed children who suffer from grief and loss or are defiant and disruptive respond much quicker, simply because of the dogs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe success rates have really accelerated,\u201d Holton said. \u201cIn a traditional clinical setting, sometimes it can take weeks to build trust. These are instant bonds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allowing the children to give commands, like \u201csit\u201d and \u201cstay;\u201d as well as brush and groom Miles and Oscar \u2014 a favorite activity for the animals \u2014 the kids learn they can rely on a consistent companion, Holton said.<\/p>\n
For the past six years, he has visited local elementary schools with his dogs at least once a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kids don\u2019t feel threatened by Mark\u2019s friendly, furry critters,\u201d said Montezuma County social services director Dennis Story. \u201cThey talk to the dogs just like they were talking to a therapist.\u201d<\/p>\n
That interaction helps enable Holton to gain trust and ultimately help the child work through their problems, Story said, adding that Holton is able to provide a level of support that might not otherwise be available in a traditional clinical environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just have to see it,\u201d said Spencer.<\/p>\n
Students with behavioral issues have often times seen traditional therapists and undergone a whole gamut of treatment options, but none compares to the effectiveness of the therapy dogs, Spencer said.<\/p>\n
Without Miles and Oscar, she feels many children may never reach a point that allows them to have any educational success.<\/p>\n
\u201cA majority of the students who see Mark and his therapy dogs go on to do really, really well in school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Spencer said the number of students with behavioral problems stemming from trauma-related events is on the rise throughout the school system.<\/p>\n
The instability, for example, arises when children don\u2019t know where they are going to sleep or get their next meal, Spencer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat type of anxiety leads to the behavior problems,\u201d Spencer explained. \u201cIt\u2019s a serious epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n
With no full-time counselors in the school district, Spencer said she could use another five therapists like Holton.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a desperate need,\u201d she said. \u201cOur schools are struggling without counseling support.\u201d<\/p>\n
To help ease the burden, New Wings is a county-funded program aimed to help troubled and at-risk elementary students.<\/p>\n
Typically, children are referred for any number of problems including anger, chronic disruptiveness, poor social skills, oppositional-defiant tendencies and other anti-social behaviors, which inhibit them from expressing themselves when they are frustrated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a way to help kids fly and be free,\u201d Story said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to give them new wings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holton believes the problems surface because of a lack of attachment children develop in the face of trauma.<\/p>\n
Those lost bonds; however, are ultimately replaced by the leash to Miles and Oscar, which serve as a new umbilical cord to greater life experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe love the kids were supposed to get, they finally get it from the dogs,\u201d Holton said. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many times the kids have said, \u2018Miles listens to me\u2019 or \u2018Oscar really listens to me.\u2019 It\u2019s pretty neat.\u201d<\/p>\n