Winona ISD set to consider adding ‘Gus’ as elementary campus’ emotional support animal

WINONA, Texas (KLTV) - If the Winona ISD Board of Trustees votes to make it official at Thursday night’s regular meeting, a new “employee” with four legs, a tail, and a friendly smile.

The Winona ISD Board of Trustees will “review, discuss, and consider” making Gus, a 4-year-old Pembroke Welsh corgi, the official social/emotional support animal at the school district’s elementary campus.

Kristin Tillman, Gus’ human, is the counselor at Winona ISD’s elementary campus. She said Gus has just finished 12 weeks of training and that he has five weeks of training left. Once Gus’ training is finished, people will be able to look up his various certifications on the AKC online registry.

Jason Corley, the principal at the elementary campus, said they were at a recent education conference at Harvard when someone brought up the idea of bringing a social/emotional support dog to a campus.

The idea took root, and after Winona ISD hired Tillman as the elementary campus counselor, he said he thought it might be a good idea for her to bring Gus to campus.

“She thought that was a great idea,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell said they eased Gus into his role and brought to the campus on a leash to see if he could handle being around so many kids. They took him through the halls and the playground, and the students responded to the lovable corgi in a positive way.

“He loves belly rubs,” Caldwell said. “Sometimes, it looks like he has this big smile on his face when he’s surrounded by kids who are petting him. Our students love him!”

Caldwell said the staff at the elementary campus have been working on the idea since July or August. The idea is that he will give social and emotional support to students and help calm upset children down.

“We’re trying to be innovative,” Caldwell said.

The principal said that if Gus proves to be a success, the school district may look into getting a larger therapy dog in addition to Gus that could serve in the same capacity at another campus and possibly also be trained as a service dog. Caldwell added they are thinking about looking for donations and talking to organizations that train service dogs.

The Winona ISD Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday in the Winona High School Library.

For the full meeting agenda, click this link.

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