“Watson,” the school’s new emotional support dog, began his role March 25. He’s a black and white goldendoodle puppy.

“We are all so excited to have him as the newest member of the Nordic team,” Superintendent/Principal Angel Inglese said.

North Dickinson, in collaboration with the Dickinson-Iron Intermediate School District, has been focusing its professional development on social-emotional learning — a topic central to the school’s improvement goal.

“Research has shown there are many benefits of having a support dog in schools,” Inglese said. “They are known to improve a human’s overall mental health and well-being.”

NORTH DICKINSON COUNTY School recently welcomed Watson, a standard parti goldendoodle brought in to serve as an emotional support dog for students and staff. (Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo)

If students are OK emotionally, they will do better academically, Inglese added.

The school has already seen the positive affects of what animals can do for a student. Inglese recently witnessed a struggling middle school student immediately calm down after handling one of the school’s three guinea pigs. “They make them so happy and make them relax and forget about the problem,” she said.

In the past, when the North Dickinson community has had to deal with traumatic events, they invited Ben Ryan to bring his support dog, Jasper. “It’s very comforting to the kids — as well as adults,” she said.

Before the school could pursue a fuzzy therapist of its own, they needed a faculty member to commit to being the dog’s handler. NDHS teacher Chris Mattson, along with his wife, Michelle, and children Maximus and Maggie stepped up.

“It wasn’t a hard decision — having pressure from my boss, wife and kids,” Chris Mattson said with a laugh.

NORTH DICKINSON COUNTY School teacher Chris Mattson and daughter Maggie show off the newest member of the Nordic team, “Watson.” He started his duties of the school’s new emotional support dog on March 25. (Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo)

Michelle Mattson, a teacher at Bark River-Harris School, did a lot of research. Her school district currently has two goldendoodle support dogs, Inglese noted.

They had previously looked at Aussiedoodles but found goldendoodles to be a better fit. Goldendoodles were bred as a support dog for owners with pet allergies. The gentle-mannered and sensitive canines are known to be intelligent and respond well to training.

The Nordics received a tip on a Facebook post about a litter at Premo Creek Puppies in Crystal Falls.

The 8-week-old standard parti goldendoodle was delivered to his new home the day before North Dickinson’s spring break.

When it came to naming their new addition, the entire school competed in a penny war, with Watson coming out on top. The other three names in the running were Cooper, Hero and Murphy.

WATSON WATCHES North Dickinson County freshman Hailey Siegler shoot the basketball in the school’s gym. The goldendoodle puppy is the school’s new emotional support dog. (Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo)

“We had people that were very passionate about the other names, so we call him ‘Sir Watson Cooper, The Hero from the land of Murphy,'” said Inglese, adding all the money raised will help with his supplies and veterinarian expenses.

Chris Mattson said the timing was perfect, as they had a week to work with him and get him acquainted to his new family.

Watson has fit right in at the Mattson home.

“We were worried the first couple of days after taking him from his mother, but he never whined once,” Mattson added.

Along with the family, Watson was introduced as well to their 10-year-old springer spaniel, Pickles. “He (Pickles) was a little bit grumpy with him the first couple days. Now they are buddies,” Mattson said.

NORTH DICKINSON COUNTY Superintendent/Principal Angel Inglese and sophmore student Maggie Mattson show the gated space in teacher Chris Mattson's classroom where Watson stays between classroom visits. (Terri Castelaz/Daily News photo)

With only a few weeks in, Watson is adapting to the school atmosphere, too. He has his own gated space within Mattson’s high school classroom and is able to come and go through a doggy door.

“This is his safe area when he wants to get away from the kids,” Mattson said. “When he’s ready, he comes out to visit.”

He is a quick learner, Maggie Mattson added. “It took him less than a week to ring a bell for a treat,” she said.

“The biggest thing is you can motivate him with food,” Chris Mattson said.

Every afternoon, Inglese takes Watson for a walk through the school to visit students. “They look forward to him coming and are upset if he passes by before they get to pet him,” she said. “Watson loves his belly rubs.”

On these daily trips, sometimes Watson decides it will be fun to trot off with a random piece of clothing. “One day he ran off with a sweatshirt,” Maggie Mattson said. “He loves anything made of fabric.”

After his long day at school, he’s ready for a nap when he gets home. “He’s also been sleeping way better,” she said.

Chris Mattson said he is happy they were able to get him with a couple months left to school, so the students get to see him in his puppy phase. “It will be a transition — coming back in September, he’s going to be quit a bit bigger,” he said.

Watson’s mother is a poodle and father is a English cream goldendoodle, so he should be 45 to 50 pounds when fully grown.

It will be interesting to see him with preschoolers, Mattson noted, as “they are the ones who will be growing up with him all the way through school.”

As for the senior class, there are a few who are afraid of getting attached to him, as they will be leaving in a few weeks.

Mattson has about three-quarters of the high school students in his room at some point of the day, so Watson is never at a loss for attention. “They are more than willing to take him outside,” he said.

The Mattsons will eventually do classes with him when he is older.

“Overall, I’m surprised how great he is doing already at his age,” Chris Mattson said.

North Dickinson County is the first local district to open its doors to a “comfort dog.”

But the Gladstone School District adopted Watson’s brother for the same purpose.

“Students face so many stress factors, we want school to be a place where they can relax and focus on their academics,” Inglese said. “In just his short time with us, Watson has already made a huge impact on our staff and students’ morale.”