PETOSKEY — The Petoskey Pack may be growing, bringing more therapy dogs into the district if an upcoming proposal is approved by the Public Schools of Petoskey Board of Education.

Petoskey schools currently have two therapy dogs that work in the district, including Poppy at the high school and Henry, who primarily works at Lincoln Elementary School.

Katie Frentz, a high school counselor, and Kristin Frey, a fourth grade teacher at Lincoln, spoke to the board of education during their Thursday meeting. They spoke about a plan for acquiring dogs and training in each school.

The board is awaiting a formal proposal but learned more about potential plans to bring more therapy dogs into the district.

When Poppy and Henry were brought into the district, they were both part of pilot programs, with slightly different paths.

More: Lincoln Elementary School therapy dog to begin work May 22

Frentz and Frey worked together to come up with a process for bringing a new dog into the schools, and outlined the expectations of the staff member that would serve as the therapy dog’s host family.

The two discussed having 5-year commitments to ensure there’s not a lot of turnover, and a minimum of three to five trained staff members at each school to serve as a handler. The goal would be to have the trainer come to Petoskey to train anyone who would be interested in being a handler, so the dog would receive consistent cues.

Different expectations include the requirement to handle vet bills and keep the dog up to date on vaccines, as well as providing the funding for the dog’s food. The district would be responsible for paying for the dog’s training.

The host teacher would also be responsible for the dog’s supplies at school, but would be able to apply for grant funding to help cover costs, Frentz said.

Teachers interested in applying would also have to be willing and able to bring the dog to training occasionally, which is in Goodrich, Michigan.

Host teachers for each school would be chosen by the district therapy dog committee, Frey said.

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There are two different options for purchasing the dog, with either the host family purchasing the dog and then the district purchasing the dog after its training is complete, or the district purchasing the dog outright. Dogs would be either Labrador retrievers or doodle mixes, as those are the breeds the trainers have the most experience with.

Funding would be made available through the Petoskey Pack fund, which already exists to support Henry and Poppy.

The board will receive a formal proposal before deciding whether or not to bring on additional dogs.

The District Teaching and Learning Committee will also receive a presentation during their February meeting before the board votes.

— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey schools would add more therapy dogs under new proposal