Friends with Paws initiative placed its final therapy dog on Wednesday by introducing Bear, a golden retriever, to Huntington East Middle School. The program, which seeks to help reduce stress, anxiety and loneliness in students and staff across West Virginia, was launched in 2022 and has introduced 45 trained therapy dogs to schools across the state, according to the Office of the First Lady. Bear, like the other dogs in the program, received training from Ultimate Canine LLC, an Indiana based organization with nearly 30 years of experience in training therapy, service, police and military dogs.