I am going to say that my therapy dog is an extremely useful tool in my school counseling program. I work in a rural elementary pK-6 school. She comes 1-2 days a week for about 1-2 hours. She normally just comes to visit classrooms on Mondays or Fridays as a motivational tool for all students (Tier 1). I have used her for kids in small groups as we discuss coping with Anxiety (Tier2). And I have had specific individuals that I have brought her to comfort them. For example, the day a child returned to school after a parent passed away. There are so many more ways that she has helped our students, school, and school counseling programs over the years. I have her in my school counseling program plan to share her benefits with my stakeholders.
I will say that I feel my dog is a very special animal. I honestly feel God created to be a therapy dog. She honestly loves and is excited to see the students. She is certified with Pet Partners which provides her insurance. I have paid for everything myself, out of my pocket. I live close to the school, so it is easy to run her home. I try to never overwork her and give her breaks. The only downside for me is that her visits wear me out. I've not got the energy that I used to have, lol. It's a lot of work on my part when she is here. As her trained and certified handler, she must stay with me during her visit. I have to be constantly aware of her needs as well as the students. But, the kids love her and even some of the teachers come to pet her on their breaks. I think it helps them as much as the kids. These are the steps I took, not saying everyone has to do everything like I did. 1. Got permission from my admin for a therapy dog program. 2. I researched breeds that I thought would be the best fit for my program. After talking with some of the staff in my building about introducing a therapy dog, I learned that I had a teacher who was afraid of large dogs, so I considered that when I chose a breed. Based on my research, I chose a Pugapoo (1/2 pug and 1/2 toy poodle) Pug for the temperament and poodle for the intelligence and their hair. We bought Pooh La Rue the Pugapoo as a puppy from out of state. 3. I started by taking her to baseball games and other after school activities to desensitize her to being around kids as much as possible. I have had other dogs (and horses) that I have trained myself, so I felt comfortable training her. 4. I trained online as a therapy dog handler for her. You can also take this course in person if you want. There is actually training coming up. You can click here to find more information about that. 5. When Pooh was a year old, I registered her to take the Therapy Dog Evaluation. Here is the link for the requirements for that. Be aware that both the Handler and the Dog Evaluation cost money. Here is the link for the cost of the fees. 6. Choose a dependable vet who keeps records. I use Pallone Veterinary Clinic in Rose Bud to make sure she stays up to date on all her vaccines and medical care. I also trust them to keep up with all of her records as well as her care. Pooh just turned 5 years old and we have never had an incident with her. We recertified back in October. It is usually a 3 year certification, but Covid messed up the timeline. The recertification was basically the same evaluation as the initial one. She actually did better than I did because I have become so comfortable with her doing everything that I was slack on what I needed to do. The Evaluation Course is at Children's hospital and it takes about an hour. In the classroom, I use the Muttigree program developed by Yale University. This used Dogs to teach empathy to kids. You can read more about it here.
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AuthorChristy M. English, Ed.S |