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Leaning down, juniors Paige Chien and Sarah Fattu pet and smile at Freckles. Chien, who owns a pet dog, loves to visit Freckles due to his resemblance of her own pet. “Freckles is a lot of fun, and reminds me a lot of my own dog Nori,” Chien said.
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Sitting beside Freckles, freshmen Karyssa Valenzuela, Catherine Matcdorf, and Giselle Chavez listen to Round Rock Police Department Officer Lisa Cleere speak about him. Valenzuela enjoyed playing with Freckles during his library visits.
Joyful wags and happy sniffs came from Freckles, RRISD Police Department’s K9 therapy dog, during his visit to the library on Friday, April 10, during A and B lunches.
Freckles, the only K9 therapy dog in the Round Rock Police Department unit, frequently visits Westwood and other RRISD schools to support students and help calm their nerves. The library hosts Freckles Friday for his trips, where he and Round Rock Police Officer Lisa Cleere are stationed near the library entrance to interact with visitors.
“I think Freckles helps students tremendously,” Officer Cleere said. “We try to visit near testing dates or if there’s been any traumatic events. I am our only canine officer and he is the only canine dog in our unit.”
With stress levels rising due to State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) testing and End of Course (EOC) exams, Freckles’s calming presence helped reduce tension in students, especially ones who tested in the past week.
“I enjoy his presence because it helps me forget about stressing over school,” Karyssa Valenzuela ‘29 said. “I think it helps students feel less stressed when petting him. I’m really thankful to pet him and he’s really comforting.”
Some students don’t own pets and may visit a friend’s house to play with their pets. Other students may have a pet at home and wish to play with them at school, especially before stressful tests or presentations. Freckles’s visits give dog-lovers the opportunity to eat lunch with him while conversing with Officer Cleere.
“I try to go visit Freckles whenever I get an email that he’ll be visiting the library,” Paige Chien ‘27 said. “He’s been visiting here since I was a freshman, and I still remember going to see him for the first time. He’s adorable and reminds me of my own dog, Nori.”
With finals season approaching, the library plans on bringing in Freckles a few more times before the end of the year. Freckles’s visits are more than a novelty to students. He has become a safe space for visitors to relax and reset, serving as a powerful reminder that students are not alone.
“I think Freckles helps out a lot of students at Westwood,” Gisselle Chavez ’29 said. “Besides testing season, he always brightens up a lot of students’ day.”
