(The Lion) — Back-to-school is less “ruff” at Northland Christian School thanks to its new four-legged friend.

Ruby Blaze, a four-month-old English lab, has become a fast favorite at the Kansas City school after she made her introduction this fall as its first therapy dog.

The small, white-haired pup welcomes students in the morning (each child gets two pets on her back on their way in), visits classes, naps and greets office and staff members.

She’s also a calming presence during sessions conducted by Jennifer Wilson, one of the school’s counselors, who is Ruby’s main caregiver.

“The kids just love seeing her,” Wilson told The Lion. “It’s honestly made everybody happy. It’s brought a lot of joy to the school. It’s fun. It’s like having a mascot.”

Wilson was inspired to get Ruby after remembering the impact made by three dogs that lived near the school’s former location. Jackson, Truman and Napoleon belonged to one of the families and accompanied students to school in the mornings, sometimes joining in play during recess and waiting outside at dismissal time, she said.

It’s been more than five years since the school moved to its current home, and Wilson started attending conferences and doing research on bringing a dog back to the school. She even received a school grant, called the Elliott Big, Bold, and Bright Idea Grant (named for John Elliott, board member of the Herzog Foundation, which publishes The Lion.)

After finding a breeding facility and funding, she just had to convince Superintendent Bryan Prewitt, who grew up on a farm and was used to not attaching emotionally to animals.

Prewitt decided to give Ruby a chance, and now he’s one of her biggest fans.

“It’s hard not to love her,” he told The Lion. “She’s just a sweet dog, and I get to see what it means to our kids and to our staff. It’s been really good for our kids. It’s good for our staff, too. And she comes in my office and hangs out sometimes.”

With Prewitt on board, the school found a donor to provide the remaining $7,500 necessary to cover Ruby’s training and vaccinations. She came to Northland at two months old, and families have generously donated beds, toys and even clothing for her.

“We had to get her young because this is such a stimulating environment,” Wilson says. “She had to get used to being around so many people. It helps that she’s a very calm dog, even a bit lazy.”

Now the students love having a new four-legged friend.

Ruby’s impact is most noticeable in student support, where she spends two hours per day with students who need extra help with schoolwork or tests.

“We’ve seen the kids completely calmed and doing their work in student support,” Wilson says. “We had one girl who was crying about taking a test. Ruby laid on her feet while she took it. Kids have really enjoyed now going to student support, so it’s become a pretty cool thing.

“My high school kids and junior high kids that suffer from anxiety, when they’re upset they’ll come in and they’ll sit with her and they’ll calm down so much quicker than they used to and they’re able to return to class so much quicker, which is awesome,” she adds.

Ruby was even there to comfort a senior student who lost his mother to cancer. “He comes by and he’ll say, ‘I need some Ruby time,’ and he’ll hold her,” Wilson says.

She was also a balm when beloved band teacher Steve Fulmer died in December. After his funeral was announced, Wilson took Ruby into the band room. “The students told stories (about Fulmer) and petted Ruby,” Prewitt said. “I think she’s part of that healing and calming spirit.”

Besides helping anxious students at the school, Wilson said research has shown reading scores improve when students are exposed to a therapy dog.

Sometimes younger students don’t want to get out of the car in the mornings to come to school, but the promise of a Ruby visit, or escort across the parking lot, helps bring them out.

Wilson was pleasantly surprised that only two of the approximately 450 students at the school’s main campus have asked to be kept away from Ruby, one for allergies and another for fear, Wilson says. And she wonders if the fear will subside as Ruby’s popularity grows.

The pup will start visiting elementary classrooms this spring, although younger students get occasional visits now.

On a December school day, a group of kindergarteners came into the library where Ruby was and received the privilege of petting her (some teachers use a Ruby visit as a class incentive). The students walked by in a line and stroked the pup. She did try to grab one child’s stuffed animal, mistaking it for one of her toys, but the effect was minimal.

As Ruby left the classroom, riding in a wagon Wilson pulls, the students waved and called her name.

“All day you’ll hear ‘Ruby’ in the hallway,” says Cassie Helming, the elementary librarian who also teaches Constitutional Law, a class the pup regularly visits.

“The kids love her so much that it’s made the school fun,” Wilson adds. “It makes me happy.”