As Wareham High School students pour out of the cafeteria many pause in the hallway — not just to greet School Resource Officer Karl Baptiste, but to pet Lexi, the Wareham Police comfort dog by his side. Some scratch behind her ears, others call her name and a few crouch down to play.

Since Lexi, a 16-month-old yellow Labrador, joined the force over a year ago as part of the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office comfort dogs program, Baptiste has noticed a change: More students stop to talk, check in, and connect.

Wareham High School Principal Scott Palladino said he’s seen a difference too. He said Lexi has helped distressed students regulate their emotions and return to class ready to learn.

About 25 miles away at Bridgewater State University, Associate Professor Leslie Sattler is looking to determine if these observations hold up under research.

“We’re looking at common services handlers provide across schools, and we’re doing pre- and post-measuring,” Sattler said.

The study she’s leading aims to quantify what many already believe: Comfort dogs make a real difference.

The Plymouth County comfort dog program originated In 2021 when the Hingham Police Department contacted District Attorney Tim Cruz and asked for funding to acquire a comfort dog. Cruz awarded a mini-grant to Hingham to begin the pilot project and soon, the program ballooned to 20 dogs across sixteen communities.

Following a round of federal grant funding, Cruz brought Sattler in to do an initial program evaluation. She studied the program's implementation and recorded the observations of those it impacted.

Now she’s looking at outcomes.

“Instead of just taking peoples opinions via surveys and focus groups we’re actually looking at the interventions and trying to get data on what it is actually doing,” Sattler said.

To do that, Sattler has approached five school districts to serve as her study sample: Whitman-Hanson, East Bridgewater, Plymouth, Hingham and Wareham.

In each district, a school resource officer operates as both the handler and owner of the comfort dog. While their specific duties vary, the officers generally bring the dogs to comfort distressed students and community members, provide support after traumatic events and offer a moment of relief during the day.

Sattler refers to these interactions as “interventions.” In Wareham schools, their impact will be measured using a simple pre- and post-intervention survey. For instance, when a distressed student visits the guidance counselor, Baptiste and Lexi will join them. Afterward, the students will be invited to share their feelings and experience from before and after the intervention.

“Does that mean the dog is solely responsible for the change in how they’re feeling?” Sattler said. “Probably not, but at least it's a starting point.”

All student information will remain confidential, with parental consent secured beforehand. When Sattler reviews the data, she will not know students' identities or even which school they attend.

While Lexi may wear the badge and vest of a police dog, her training is entirely different.

“These dogs are not trained to look for drugs, these dogs are not trained to look for cadavers. These dogs are trained to deal with crisis situations and to help the people around them that they can help,” said Cruz. “The majority of them are labs and if you know Labradors they are really just looking to be pet and to snuggle up to you.”

In Wareham, Baptiste and Lexi visit all three public schools daily, adjusting their approach based on students’ ages. They also respond to calls across Plymouth County when needed.

After a house fire in Middleboro last year killed a 12-year-old girl, nine comfort dogs visited local schools to support grieving students.

“They all showed up,” Cruz said. “It’s a community calling and I think the trainers and the handlers are really special kinds of people, I just think it makes a big difference.”

Along with comfort, Cruz said he hopes the dogs will act as a preventative measure for at-risk children.

“To me this is a program that helps kids on the front end and maybe can break some cycles of domestic violence, child abuse and drug issues that kids experience and really help the kids that need it the most,” Cruz said.

As for the study, Sattler said she hopes the data she collects will offer a better understanding of where the dogs can provide the most support to community members, and how to do it better.

“The overall goal is really building that resiliency in the community and to try and mitigate the effects of substance abuse and trauma,” Sattler said.