In her four years as a therapist, Savannah Fillion has heard many of her clients say the same thing: I don’t know if I would be here if it weren’t for my animal.

Connections between humans and animals can have a powerful impact on mental health. A recent survey by the American Psychiatric Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association found that 84% of pet owners believe their animals positively impact their mental well-being by offering companionship, friendship and unconditional love. Animals can provide joy and purpose and reduce stress and loneliness, which can alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Those benefits also extend to mental health treatment. Trained therapy dogs can join individual or group therapy sessions and provide emotional support that helps reduce anger and distress, regulate emotions, build social skills and improve mood.

Fillion always had the idea of a therapy dog in the back of her mind as she worked with adult clients at Johnson County Mental Health Center. However, when she and her husband adopted a German Shepherd puppy named Khloe from Missouri German Shepherd Rescue in January 2023, she didn’t expect the puppy to grow into a therapy dog.

Based on a copy of “German Shepherds for Dummies” checked out from the library, Fillion expected Khloe to be full of energy and a little chaotic, traits that are typical for a German Shepherd puppy. Instead, Khloe was a docile, idle and affectionate puppy who loved to cuddle and sleep.

“As she started to grow, we realized, ‘Oh, she’s not fully a German Shepherd,’” said Fillion. “From her temperament, I realized she would be the perfect therapy dog.”

Seeing Khloe’s potential, Fillion approached leadership at JCMHC with an idea: training Khloe as a therapy dog and incorporating her into Fillion’s work with adult clients and groups.

When Fillion pitched the idea, she thought it was a long shot, but JCMHC’s leadership fully supported adding a therapy dog and animal-assisted therapy to JCMHC’s services.

Fillion saw the encouragement from leadership as a reflection of JCMHC’s culture and care for clients.

“I think the overall message was just how much we do care about our clients,” Fillion said. “If this is something that would be beneficial for them, let’s make it happen. It was really, really cool to see how many people got behind that.”

To create the role for Khloe, Fillion wrote a 10-page proposal with behavioral health research, a timeline and budget for Khloe’s training, policies and procedures and a consent form for clients.

Fillion and Khloe went through six months of intensive individual and group training with Dog Training Elite in Kansas City to certify Khloe as a therapy dog. The training helps dogs learn obedience and social skills, but also focuses on teaching handlers the right commands. Khloe received her certification in November and continues to train with other therapy dogs.

As Khloe started working with clients in January, Fillion saw the power of the therapeutic connection between humans and animals. Clients pet Khloe and have her lie at their feet, building rapport and trust.

“Khloe heightens their sense of safety. She’s accepting and non-judgmental,” said Fillion.

In groups, Khloe’s playfulness puts clients at ease and gives them something to talk about with each other, which helps build a social connection. Fillion has also seen Khloe’s impact extend to her colleagues at JCMHC.

“There are staff members who have brought her toys and bones or have treats in their offices, and Khloe knows to stop by and see them,” Fillion said. “She’s bringing us all together.”

For now, Khloe is in JCMHC’s Olathe office every Monday, Wednesday and Friday working with clients served by Fillion’s team. She hopes Khloe can be a model for more therapy dogs and animal-assisted therapy at JCMHC in the future.

If you or a loved one need mental health support, help is always available by calling JCMHC’s 24/7 crisis line at 913-268-0156.