PANAMA CITY BEACH West Bay Elementary School has welcomed a new four-legged friend to help students on campus.
Kelly Dean, a counselor at West Bay, owns Murphy and has been trying for years to get him on campus as a therapy dog. Murphy and Dean are certified and Dean is tested every two years to renew the certification.
Murphy is a 5-year-old poodle/Bernese mountain dog mix.
Dean worked with students leading up to Murphy s arrival on campus a few weeks ago by teaching them how to interact with him. She taught them to ask if they could approach Murphy and pet him, to only interact with him two at a time and that Murphy is a licker.