SPECIAL REPORT: Local dentist takes the anxiety out of the dental chair

For many, going to the dentist can be a trying experience, but a doctor in Fond du Lac has a way to take the anxiety out of the dentist chair. She is one of only a few dentists in Wisconsin to have a dental therapy dog. Bailey, a 65 lb Golden Doodle, became a therapy dog at Boudry Dental a few years ago. Dr. Tammy Boudry came up with the idea after talking to a woman.

"There are some amazing things that therapy dogs do, in hospitals and clinics, so I thought, well if they can do it there, they can do it here," Dr. Boudry said.

The state dental association only knows of three dentists in Wisconsin doing this sort of thing. It took months of training and densensitizing to the noises before it could be a such thing.

"He kinda makes me happy when he sits by me," said Jackson Koepke, 7, a patient of Dr. Boudry.

Olivia Schwister drives an hour for the comfort that comes with having a therapy dog around.

"Before Tammy, I probably would just not go to the dentist," Schwister said. "I think it had probably been three years or more."