Panther Valley eighth-grade treasurer Ann Simpson loves animals, so she looks forward to the weekly visits from Dakota, a German shepherd who belongs to teacher Kim Laird.

Dakota recently started visiting the emotional support class at Panther Valley Junior-Senior High School."We've learned about discipline, obedience and body language," Simpson said. "You can learn a lot from dogs about obedience."Laird recently got approval from the Panther Valley School Board to roll out a trial program of animal therapy using Dakota. She chose to use the Mutt-i-Grees curriculum, which aims to teach children social skills while giving them appreciation for rescued animals.Laird first experimented with the program with the life skills class at the former Panther Valley Middle School.After her eighth-grade classroom got moved to the junior-senior high, she took a break.But when Principal Joseph Gunnels asked teachers if there were any new programs they would like to include, Laird thought of bringing it back."The kids need something like this, and the curriculum is free. The principal asked if we had any ideas for new programs. I wanted one that I'm going to be interested in bringing to our kids, and one I feel they can really benefit from," she said.Dakota was adopted when she was 7 months old. Now 6 years old, she's well-behaved and more than happy to have a group of kids giving her attention."All they want to do in that classroom is show her love and be loved by her, and it draws them in to the lesson, which is what I like," Laird said.The Mutt-i-Grees curriculum focuses a lot on emotional support.During last week's class, they were discussing the importance of exercise and discipline in both dogs and people. Those lessons can sometimes be difficult to teach in a classroom setting, but Dakota helps get the students excited."How to build resiliency to things, how to handle different situations when they feel anger, what should they do, they're not getting enough of that type of training," she said.If the trial period is successful, Laird plans on bringing Dakota back in the fall, and hopefully expanding to the life skills class. From there, she would like to work with the school's behavior coordinator to meet with students who need assistance but may not necessarily be in special education."We have such a need in this area. We have kids who are coming from various household backgrounds, and it's not just Panther Valley. Kids need more emotional education," she said.