Gracie’s day often starts by helping a preschool boy who has problems with separation anxiety. The first time Gracie heard the boy crying, "she sat down next to him and nuzzled her head beside him," Meyer says.

Before Gracie arrived on the scene, the principal would often spend 30 minutes each morning consoling the boy, but with his canine companion’s help, “he’s able to reengage a whole lot more quickly. If she hears somebody crying, and she’s here in my office, she will stand up, look at me and want to go.”