“I’ve been in the learning center before when Pongo is in there and these kids are like, ‘man, I’m having a bad day,’” said Eddie Meredith, a therapist at Mercy Home. “And I’ve heard kids say, ‘now that I’ve seen you Pongo, I feel a lot better.’”

Our kids know that whenever the stress of school starts to weigh heavy on their shoulders, they always have a therapist or a youth care worker they can talk to. We also have a variety of Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment tools, such as weighted blankets.

But sometimes, the love and affection of Pongo is all our kids need to deal with the stress of their schoolwork.

“Pongo is such a great therapeutic tool for our youth. You figure they respond well to people – they respond even better to animals sometimes,” Eddie said. “Some of our guys schedule a meeting or want to see Pongo any time they’re feeling stressed or anxious about something. It’s really cool that we have a therapeutic dog throughout the agency that can just come in and help kids de-stress.”

Summer is a particularly crucial time for our kids at Mercy Home, as we strive to make sure they’re prepared for school and beyond. Thanks to your (and Pongo’s) help, we can continue to guide our youth to their highest goals.