CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Nutmeg, a therapy dog at Victory Elementary School in Clarksburg, is continuing her training so she can better do her job.

Nutmeg has been working at Victory Elementary School since May 2022 and has been active in the school since the beginning of the school year. She is certified through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and works along her owner Felicia Turner who is a WVU Medicine Clinical Therapist contracted to Victory Elementary.

Although Nutmeg has been working for almost a year, she has officially passed Harrison County’s Therapy Dog Behavior and Protocol Course, as of December 2022, according to the Harrison County School District, and the school celebrated the accomplishment this month.

According to Turner, the certificate was an extra step in Nutmeg’s training. During the extensive training, Nutmeg went to various places in the community to see how she reacted in different environments, including Pet Supplies Plus, Lowe’s and United Hospital Center.

“Nutmeg and I went through behavior modification training and she learned how to visit people, deep pressure therapy for patients, some new tricks, practicing patience,” Turner told 12 News.

Nutmeg was rescued at age two, and now, at age six, loves working with students and being a “PAWsitive influence on her school.” Turner said that Nutmeg has therapeutic goals for students in the school and the students Turner sees for individual therapy. In her spare time, Nutmeg also loves to take car rides, eat cheerios, chase laser lights and take naps.