CHULA VISTA, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) At Howard Gardner Community School in Chula Vista, the most popular student is just 8 months old.

Thunder, the therapy dog, is a Siberian Husky mix with a gentle disposition: Changing the lives of young learners.

“When I got here, I noticed we provide a lot for what the kids need, but there was something missing,” said Kat Shaw, Howard Gardner Community School Executive Director.

Shaw said she thought a dog might be the perfect addition, and began fostering Thunder. When she brought him to school, it quickly became clear that he was exactly what the students needed.

“Kids would say, ‘Hey, I’m upset, can I come in, cry it out, and play with the dog? ‘” Shaw said.

Given the positive interactions with the students, it was a no-brainer, Thunder would become part of her family and remain a permanent fixture at the school, even wearing his own ID.

“We decided to adopt him,” Shaw said.

The school is its own district, authorized by the county, and created in 2012 to cater to all kinds of learning styles. But they also cater to a significant level of need in the community.

“We deal with everything that everybody else deals with, but it’s very concentrated here,” Shaw said. “We have a high need.”

With a 20 percent homeless population, students at Howard Gardner face many invisible challenges outside the classroom.

“So we have some families that have been in their cars, others that live with 10 in a household in a single bedroom,” Shaw said. “A lot of kids just carry trauma, and they want to be with him.”

But even the hardest days and toughest emotions are softened by cuddles from their furry friend, Thunder.

“They come in with a lot, and sometimes they just need to decompress, so it is Thunder time in the morning,” Shaw said.

Students can use their hard-earned points for good work in school to spend time with Thunder, take selfies with him, or even treat him to a spa day.

“I think that he’s having fun here and he doesn’t have no problems,” one student said.

During his spa day, the gentle giant even got his teeth brushed, followed by a sweet treat and a nap for a job well done.

“Attendance is through the roof,” Shaw said. “Enrollment is through the roof. We meet everybody where they’re at. No matter who they are, we love them all,”.

Enrollment is now so high that the school is looking to expand so it can serve even more students, and is fundraising for a new building. Information about the fundraiser can be found on the school’s social media.