The Navy Seals of Dogs

This past Thursday, Fieldstone Middle School hosted “Inside Maybie’s World”, an event that celebrated both the beloved facility dog Maybie and the 50th anniversary of the non-profit Canine Companions.

The event brought in hundreds of students, faculty members and parents to the Fieldstone Middle School gym, which was packed with interactive displays highlighting the canines.

There were stations set up around the gym with titles such as “Take a Pawse with Maybie’s Mindfulness Station”, a kissing booth for the “Pup”-erazzi, a stand encouraging visitors to “Get Curious About the Canine Companion Connection”, and many more.

Mike Morlino, a special education teacher and Maybie’s handler, was found by the front entrance of the event swarmed by adoring fans ooo-ing and aah-ing over Maybie. Morlino graciously agreed to chat with the RCT about the work Maybie is doing in Rockland.

Morlino was proud to inform the RCT that, as to his knowledge, Maybie is the only facility dog in a classroom in the country, making North Rockland one of the most advanced areas when it comes to advocating for mental health.

Getting Maybie to where she is now has been no simple task. Morlino stated that over three years he undertook multiple interviews, a 30 page initial application, travel to the Canine Companions facility, and intensive training with Maybie before the two were approved to work together in an educational environment.

Social Emotional Learning, emotional dysregulation support, PTSD, anxiety – these are all topics that fall under Maybie’s purview. With 42 commands, we’re not sure there’s much Maybie CAN’T do. According to Morlino, there’s a secret bonus command; “Her 43rd is the best – it’s recognizing emotion and adjusting to it.” Maybie can recognize if students are upset and uses her nose to nudge students and check in with them. She can also work as a “weighted blanket” and provide deep pressure therapy for those experiencing emotional dysregulation. Maybie even has her own office where she, Morlino and a clinician can help students decompress.

Morlino is one of those people who is clearly doing the job he was born to do. His passion for the life changing work he and Maybie do everyday was fully on display as he described their role in supporting North Rockland students.

“I consider [Maybie] to be the Navy Seals of dogs,” says Morlino. And he’s not joking – Maybie wakes up every day at 4:00 a.m. ready to go. She must be trained for an hour a day, is served a special diet to ensure her health, and has her weight constantly monitored.

The work is worth it for the results the school district is seeing. Morlino shared that the director of Special Education has stated that 93% of students who enter the therapeutic support program end up moving to a less restrictive setting.

Morlino recounted a story of one of his students in the therapeutic support program who had an emotional outburst and raised his voice. In Morlino’s class, there is a rule that students cannot raise their voices in front of Maybie, as it causes her to think something is wrong. In the middle of the outburst, the student was able to calm them- selves down enough to go to Maybie and, of his own volition, apologize for yelling. “He hasn’t yelled ever since,” said Morlino proudly.

For young learners, mastering emotional control can be a difficult concept to grasp and is a concept even grown adults can struggle with. Maybie, in all her wonderful ways, provides a space free of the confusions of being human. She is there as a neutral tool to educate and to help these young learners understand their own emotions, thoughts and feelings more clearly.

Paul Vespo, a school psychologist in Rockland, says he is seeing the effect of Maybie carry on through the high school years. “I’ve seen fewer hospitalizations, increased academic performance, and increased applications of therapeutic skills fostered by Maybie and the therapeutic team at Fieldsville Middle School,” says Vespo. He states that Maybie works as a “beacon of hope” for the students, encouraging them to keep coming to school. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “High school dropouts have been found to exhibit a history of negative behaviors, including high levels of absenteeism throughout their childhood, at higher rates than high school graduates.” Even at a young age, attendance is key to succeeding academically in high school and beyond.

Inside the event were members of Canine Companions, a nonprofit who were celebrating their 50th Anniversary of connecting individuals with disabilities with service dogs to empower people to live with a greater degree of independence.

“She’s really opened up my world!” says Cara Marvin. Marvin is one of the individuals with a service dog from Canine Companion who spoke on the joys and struggles of having her service dog Winnie.

Marvin shared that Winnie has helped her with expanding her independence not only physically through tasks like opening doors and picking up dropped items, but also socially by helping her meet new people and get involved with events like the 50th Anniversary party.

One of the difficulties of having a service dog has less to do with the service dog, and more to do with other people. Unfortunately, because of the prevalence of “service” dogs (a.k.a I bought this vest on Amazon because I refuse to leave my bichon at home), Marvin shared that people will often think Winnie is a pet and will come up and try to play with her. This distracts Winnie from focusing on Marvin.

People who buy these vests think that what they are doing is harmless, but this is untrue. Knowingly attaching a fraudulent service dog tag is a crime as of 2017, and can get offenders a fine, up to 15 days of jail time, or both. Not only are there legal consequences, but this crime has a real life impact on people like Marvin who rely on a service animal for day to day independence. As cute as these pups are, they have an important job to do and it is critical that they do not become distracted.

Those who want to learn more about Canine Companions can go to canine.org and those who want to follow along with the marvelous world of Miss. Maybie can follow her @momentswithmaybie.

Pictured: Mike Morlino and Maybie pose for a pic.