The purpose of this study was to examine animal assisted therapy (AAT) in the school setting. This study reviewed the potential social, emotional, and educational benefits that children and adolescents may gain from utilizing an animal assisted therapy dog. This study utilized The Relationship Inventory and The AAT (Animal Assisted Therapy) Student Survey to further investigate these results. The sample for this study was the 4th -8th grade classes at a medium rural Midwestern middle school. These students have been using an animal assistance therapy dog for the past three years. The findings of this study suggest that no differences exist between students who utilize and do not utilize individual and/or group counseling with an AAT dog in the school setting and how they rate the AAT dog on Rogers' core conditions. The findings also suggest that students who rate the AAT dog higher on Rogers' core conditions may not self-report higher levels of self-actualization than students who rate the AAT dog lower on these same core conditions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]