NHS Service Dog

High school comes with the highs and lows of being a student, from homecoming to homework. The common theme? Every student finds stress in their life. As stress in schools rises, so do the strategies put in place to help students regulate their mental health. Newtown High School has found a way to help students with their mental health by having their own therapy dog on campus by the name of Auggie. This pup helps students to destress one tail wag at a time.

While Auggie now spends his days sitting in the Newtown High School counseling office, his journey to becoming a therapy dog was not an ordinary one. 

NHS counselor Deirde Croce is the owner of Auggie. She recalls how his adoption wasn’t originally planned.

“I love that Auggie was adopted, there are so many strays in the world and it’s so empowering that he was helped and now he gets to help students at Newtown,” NHS Senior Olivia Gulalo said.

Auggie was originally sent to Croce for temporary care under the name of Ollie. At that time, Croce had two dogs: Sydney and Finn. She requested a calmer puppy that would get along with her other dogs.

“His original name was Ollie. They were like, let’s send you Ollie because he’s chill, and when I saw him, I almost had a heart attack, and then my other dog, Finn, loved him,” Croce said.

The bond between Finn and Ollie was a strong one. Sydney, unfortunately, passed away less than a year later. Croce describes it ‘like it was meant to be’ seeing as the new addition to her pet family made it so  Finn wasn’t alone. 

Auggie’s name came after some trial and error. Croce shared she tried a few names, like Freddy, inspired by Frederiksted, until one day it came to her.

“I kept naming him different things, and Frederiksted is the capital of St. Croix, so I started calling him Freddy and it just didn’t fit. And then I was just talking to him one day and it came to me; August.”

Auggie's name comes from the month he was adopted, August, with his middle name being Frederick. 

Auggie began his journey as a therapy dog on March 30th, in the spring of the 2023 school year. That makes this school year his second full one he will be working. 

Throughout his time here, Auggie has participated in many school events such as freshman orientation and helping students navigate their first day of school. Though dogs aren’t allowed on the turf for things such as graduation, there is no doubt Auggie helps every student leading up to that moment. 

“I love Auggie, he’s so cute! Everytime I see him it's the highlight of my day,” NHS senior Nikki Mukka said.

Auggie does not only bring comfort to students, he also carries on the legacy of past therapy pets in the Newtown district, such as Maggie who had previously worked at some elementary schools.

Auggie’s work highlights the importance and steady increase of therapy dogs in schools. Through his journey, he has become a beloved face at NHS, being a source of joy and peace for the students. Auggie has become much more than just a therapy dog, to us at NHS he has become a part of our family.