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 While a service dog helps individuals with
specific disabilities such as visual impairment, hearing impairment,
or post-traumatic stress disorder, a therapy dog has a different
purpose. A therapy dog provides comfort and support; a relief to
those in anxiety-provoking situations. Therapy dogs are trained to
use their instinct and learned social skills to provide health,
social, emotional, and cognitive benefits.
Chester-East Lincoln District #61 now has a therapy dog named Casey.
Her handler, former Bloomington School District #87 Psychologist
Julie Hesse was looking for a dog for her family. When her kids
asked for a puppy, she decided that whatever puppy they got would be
a therapy dog. She had read about therapy animals, thought it was
special, and decided to research the training involved.
Hesse and Casey, a yellow lab, enrolled in obedience classes, but
took a break when the training and a full-time job became too much.
With encouragement from her mentor, who has two therapy dogs in
District #87, Hesse and Casey became certified through the Alliance
of Therapy Dogs.
Alliance of Therapy Dogs is celebrating 30 years of “sharing smiles
& joy” at no cost to the facilities that the dogs and their handlers
visit. An international registry of certified dog therapy teams, ATD
provides testing, certification, registration, support, and
insurance for volunteers who share their therapy dog with schools,
rehab facilities, hospitals, cancer centers, college campuses and
more.
Sheridan School Principal at the time, Jen McGowan, was highly
interested in Casey going to the school. So, Casey’s first job was
going to the school two days a week. That was a great beginning.
Hesse uses this analogy: “The kids got off the bus and came into the
school like Eeyore (grumpy to be at school) but approached her
(Casey) like Tigger, pure joy on their faces.”
One student did not want to get on the bus to home, so Casey rode
the bus home with him.
There are new assignments for Casey every week: kids practice
reading to her, she is used as a reward for classroom parties,
individual students or groups of students who meet goals, and she
visits with students who may be anxious or sad.
Covid hit and Hesse got a new job with Tri-County Special Ed
Association.
C-EL Special Education Administrator - Principal Ashely Aper knew
that Hesse had a therapy dog and approached her about coming to
Chester-East. But covid was a little tricky. Casey’s veterinarian
encouraged Hesse to hold off visiting the school until the cases in
Logan County were down in count. The doctor was not as concerned
about Casey getting sick, but concerns early in the pandemic were
how the virus was transmitted. If one infected student would pet
Casey, could Casey transfer the virus to another student?
Aper asked Principal and Superintendent Laura Irwin about a therapy
dog about three years ago but the timing for C-EL was not right.
Aper said, “Mental health is such a need right now and if there is
anything we can do to help our kids with mental health we are going
to do it and we are going be creative. Casey is part of that
creativity.”
When the time was right C-EL was very welcoming. To start Hesse and
Casey had a meet and greet in each classroom spending about 15 or 20
minutes in each room, explaining Casey’s training, describing her
disposition, and telling the students what kinds of things Casey
would be used for at school. The kids got to meet Casey, pet her and
ask any questions they had. A big concern about having a dog in the school is safety and
sanitation. Casey is never introduced to a child until the child is
ready. She is taken out of the students reach when she is tired and
has had enough social interaction for the day. Hesse is with her the
entire time that she is in the school.
[to top of second column] |
Casey is nonjudgmental and very approachable. In just a few short
weeks Hesse had success stories of Casey and the students
interacting:
• A young lady who struggled with academic functioning and
behavioral regulation issues found Casey to be a huge help in her
learning process. Casey got a treat for every three questions that
were answered. With Casey by her side, she went through the entire
assignment for the day. Upon completion, she cried, “I wanna do
more. Casey is still hungry.”
• For another student with test anxiety, Casey was a snoring
companion. During the test, the student continued to reach over to
stroke the sleeping therapy dog and finished the test in record
time. After finishing the test, she told Hesse, “Thank you. That
really helped.”
Casey does things that people can’t do. People have expectations of
people, but Casey does not have any expectations. As long as kids
are paying attention to her, she is happy. Students Stella Polley,
Reed Polley, and Clara Kessinger all agreed that Casey makes them
feel better when they are at school. They are happy when she is in
the classroom and wish she could be there more often.
Teachers reach out to Hesse when they have a job for Casey. A
schedule is made for the two of them before they get to school each
Wednesday morning. It is easy to overschedule Casey because the need
is so great. When asked if there would be a second therapy dog
someday, Irwin responded, “Maybe down the road.”
Irwin added, “If it’s good for our kids, then let’s do it! It has
been good for our kids and that is exciting to see! It is good for
our teachers. What I love about it is the whole Eeyore and Tigger
thing. Eeyores don’t learn. Tiggers do. And so, if we get kids here
and those Eeyores turn into Tiggers, think of our academic
achievement. The vision and mission of Chester East is that students
feel safe, welcomed, and loved. It is so cool that we have someone
besides us that makes them feel that way. It’s exciting to have
another tool; one that we have never had before.”
The parents love the program! Parents were notified before Casey
came to the school for the first time.
Second grade teacher Sara Boyd said she was glad that Casey visited
her class first thing in the morning, around 8:30 a.m., because “I
don’t think we would have gotten anything done. The kids were so
excited.” Boyd added, “It wasn’t 30 minutes after school that
parents wanted to know where the pictures (of the visit) were.” One
of her students wrote about Casey’s first visit to the classroom,
“That was the best day of my life.”
There are still difficult things that can happen that are outside of
the control of students and teachers. But Hesse and Casey are easing
the way at school. Hesse tells the kids, “Casey can’t fix
everything. She’s not erasing (sad) things, but she can help you
through them and make it a little better for you.”
[Lisa Ramlow]
|
Read all the articles in our
new
2021 Education Magazine
Title
CLICK ON TITLES TO GO TO PAGES |
Page |
|
Educating
in a most challenging year |
4 |
| A
preschool that is exciting, educational and
engaging |
5 |
| Local
educators creating practical math |
6 |
| The
efficacy of remote learning |
9 |
|
Differences in college education during the
pandemic |
13 |
|
Changing the social dynamics of education |
19 |
| School
resource officer makes positive impact |
24 |
| What's
a dog doing in school? |
26 |
|
Academics and meaningful lessons blended |
31 |
| The
return of school sports |
35 |
| Logan
County School profiles |
38 |
|
|
What's
a dog doing in school?
