They say that dogs are man's best friends. That's certainly true of Elsie, who's everybody's friend.

Elsie, a 4-year-old Labradoodle, is a social facility dog at Brownstown Elementary School, 51 School Lane Ave., Brownstown. She goes to school with her owner and primary handler, Christine Colantoni, every day and makes herself available to anyone - students and staff members alike - who needs the type of comfort and affection that only dogs can provide.

"It's truly unconditional love and just a trust for humans," said Colantoni of the universal relationship that exists between dogs and people. "(Dogs) just want to be companions. For the kids, it teaches them responsibility. (Dogs) trust us to do the best for them, and in turn they do their best for us."

Elsie's duties at Brownstown Elementary School are more informal than they are formal. But that doesn't mean she doesn't play an important role in the educational process.

Sometimes, Elsie allows budding learners to read to her. Other times, simply being present is her job.

"We do greetings during morning duty and greet kids as they come in the building," said Colantoni, a speech therapist for students in kindergarten through grade five. "She greets kids when they come into my speech therapy office. For some students, it actually calms them if they can walk alongside her. A lot of times the staff comes to visit her."

"Sometimes we'll be walking, and students will see her and say, 'It's Elsie. It's Elsie,'" continued Colantoni. "It's very uplifting, and they're excited to see her. I think both (seeing her and petting her) can be calming, depending upon what a student needs. Having her lay across the laps of students can be calming. I know when I'm petting her, I can feel my heart rate going down. It's so calming."

For Elsie, the feelings may be mutual.

"She gets so excited coming to school," said Colantoni. "She loves the attention. She loves (being petted). She comes to school every day I come to school."

Elsie first started going to school with Colantoni four years ago when she was a puppy in training to be a facility dog. It's been two years now since Colantoni and Elsie together completed the required training to become a certified handler and facility dog.

"Four years ago, the principal reached out and asked, 'Has anyone recently gotten a puppy?'" said Colantoni. "(Elsie) was 3 months old and had some training, and I was willing to do this. After two years of training, we became certified."

The Conestoga Valley School District's Gerald G. Huesken Middle School is home to another facility dog, Coco, and there have been discussions about adding dogs at Fritz and Smoketown elementaries. Other school districts in Lancaster County have utilized facility dogs as parts of their education process, but the trend is relatively new and far from widespread.

"There's a bond that exists between humans and dogs," said Colantoni. "I was not a trainer. I had to learn to be a trainer. But it's really deepened our relationship."