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EVERGREEN, Colo. (AP) -- With wagging tails and kind eyes, the four-legged staff members at Evergreen High School welcome students each morning, walk the halls and visit classrooms to offer a loving, calming presence and moments of joy to a student body still processing a school shooting.
Norene and Polenta, two golden Labs, joined the high school southwest of Denver to help students relieve stress and stay focused as they heal from last year's trauma after a student shot and wounded two of his peers before shooting himself.
"Every morning after I get off the bus, I have to say hi to these two. It's my first thing I do every day," said Fisher Helbraun, a junior at Evergreen High School. "Every single time I see one, I always have a smile on my face. I always get either some puppy kisses or I get some nice pets."
Norene, a calm, young dog who loves attention, and Polenta, her spunky and rambunctious colleague, started at the school in March and August, respectively. They are part of program run by Canine Companions, a nonprofit based in California that provides trauma support dogs free of charge. The dogs are the first to be matched with a school following a shooting on campus.
The shooting left 'a lot of sorrow'
In September 2025, a 16-year-old student opened fire with a revolver at the school during lunch hour, wounding two students before shooting himself. The suspect later died. Evergreen High School Principal Skyler Artes sheltered in the main office with students and staff and remained at the school until the last person had left.
After the shooting "everybody was devastated, a lot of sorrow, a lot of grief, a lot of uncertainty about how to proceed," Artes said
Some of the nonprofit's dogs provided support at a family reunification site.
Artes decided to train with Canine Companions to be a support dog handler after seeing the positive impact the animals had on the students and staff.
Volunteers with Canine Companions continued to bring dogs to the school in the days following the shooting, and Artes decided support dogs should be a permanent presence at the school.
"The fact that they are calm, that they're generally peaceful and attentive makes them good at providing that ongoing, consistent, stable source of support, affection and quiet when people need it most," she said.
Even though the dogs are a relatively new presence at the school in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, they were