Walk the halls of Pine Bush Elementary School in Guilderland and you'll find three regulation mailboxes bolted to the walls, complete with flags to indicate if there is mail waiting inside. Students drop off letters in hopes of getting answers to their angst.

It's not your average "Dear Abby" who answers — it's Miss Siggy, the golden doodle dog trained and brought to the suburban Albany school several years ago by school social worker Catherine Ricchetti. Students have responded so well to the dog that Ricchetti envisioned using her to promote character education at Pine Bush.

Meeting with the Bully Prevention Committee, Ricchetti and her peers talked about how to reach students who struggle with issues that can be addressed through character education. That's one of the mandates of Project SAVE, the safe schools legislation that the state Legislature passed in 2000 after thorough lobbying by NYSUT. (The statewide union is now lobbying to strengthen the act through amendments.)

The team figured Miss Siggy could be used as outreach so that students could ask for help without fear of intimidation.

Encouraging students to write letters to Miss Siggy lets them talk about bullying, friendship skills and problem-solving. Each of Miss Siggy's responses is delivered to boys and girls in their classrooms. Teachers are encouraged to have discussions around the topics raised in the letters.

Classroom conversation starters include learning to hold your ground, trusting your intuition, asking for help and accepting differences. Sometimes, Miss Siggy asks a student to come see her.

700 dog letters

Last year this "Dear Abby" of the dog world received close to 700 letters. The actual author of the replies says every response is worth the time.

"I do most of the writing here at school. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes a day," said Ricchetti, a member of the Guilderland Central Teachers Association, led by Christopher Claus.

Responses strain at the leash to employ "dogspeak." For example, to a student who needs help with a tough subject: "I'll never forget the wise old Jack Russell terrier who counseled me that I can't be great in everything, but champion dogs never give up," Miss Siggy wrote.

Here's another exchange:

Dear Miss Siggy:

I dunked a grilled cheese sandwich into my tomato soup at lunch, and my friends said I was gross.

Dear Dunker:

It sounds doggone delicious to me. Being a good friend means letting your friends be who they are.

What about bullies? Students are told about the difference between tattling and telling: When safety is an issue, telling needs to be done.

Students put their own names on the letters, so Miss Siggy can answer them personally.

She has her own stationery, and her own rubber paw print to "sign" letters.

Each week, three letters are chosen, the writer's name is removed for confidentiality and the letters and answers are mounted on posters above each mailbox. The poster boasts a photo of Miss Siggy and deals with a topic of the week.

Statistics on the categories that children write about are tallied by a social worker intern from SUNY Albany.

For details on starting a similar program, e-mail Ricchetti at ricchettic@guilderlandschools.org.

— Liza Frenette