Part beagle, part pug, 12-year-old "Pugsly" only has one job at Bellevue schools.
"He's definitely emotional support," said Colleen Pribyl, a counselor in the Bellevue Public Schools district.
Pribyl, a former teacher, became a counselor when the district began allowing therapy dogs.
Understanding its hard for kids to open up, Pugsly works at a confidante for them, lending his ear, offering a paw to lean and turning tears to smiles. But where emotions feel foreign, Pugsly reminds the students of something familiar, their own dogs at home.
