Rockingham County students are some of the luckiest students in the USA, in my opinion. Why? If you know me you know I love animals, all God’s animals, except maybe spiders, but I’m working on that. I especially love dogs and Rockingham County Public Schools(RCPS) has more dogs in classrooms than any other school district that I’ve contacted. RCPS not only has dogs, classrooms of all sorts have trained Therapy Dogs, part of a program titled, “The Power of the Paw”(POP).
In the 2019 school year, RCPS had two part-time Therapy Dogs, one at Broadway High School and one at River Bend Elementary School. BHS had Teddy, a Labradoodle who came to school half a day a week with Assistant Principal, Liza Coffman. River Bend had Gabe, an English Mastiff, who came with Kindergarten teacher, Wendee Constable one full day a week. Students loved them.
At that time I had Memphis, my fourth black Labrador. He loved being with me and wanted to go wherever I went, so I checked out the Classroom Therapy Dog Program with Molly Brennan at PetSmart. I found out that through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs Organization(ATD) teachers trained their personal pets to become Classroom Therapy Dogs and took the dog with them to school where the dog stayed with the teacher the entire day going wherever the teacher went. ATD also provides insurance, support, and testing for teams, (owner and dog). As I was nearing retirement, I made it my goal to get as many therapy dog teams as possible in RCPS before I retired. Memphis and I became the first full-time team. Today RCPS, according to the last count, over fifty full-time teams. I believe we are closer to 75, but I could not verify all of them or the part-time teams. A full-time team consists of a trained, certified, insured handler and dog. Both handler and dog are tested in multiple settings by a certified trainer/tester-Molly Brenan in the case. New teams are being certified year-round.
The first question I am asked the most when asked about Therapy Dogs is what breed is best. The answer is, it’s not about breed. It’s about a dog that enjoys people and enjoys new experiences. Any dog, from the most expensive pure-bred dog to the designer dog to the pup has no pedigree can be a Therapy Dog. Molly does a screening to see if your dog has what it takes to be a Therapy Dog.
One fine example of a Therapy Dog team is Kim Price and her dog Kenna. Kim is a behavior specialist at John C. Myers, Lacey Spring, Fulks Run and Linville Edom Elementary Schools. Kenna came from a rescue and was adopted as a puppy. She is seven years old and is certified through Alliance of Therapy Dogs. She visits with Kim at her four schools during the school year giving Kim’s students her support. Kim and Kenna also sneak in reading to classes! A fifth grader even taught Kenna to shake this year.
Dogs who are trained as Classroom Therapy Dogs don’t just work in the schools. They visit hospitals, nursing homes, first responders, libraries and any other place where having a creature who offers unconditional love and understanding is beneficial. My dogs provide therapy every day! They are always thrilled to see me, waiting for me, and giving me unconditional love!
Kim and Jenna have been invited to the Village Library in Broadway to “Read with Kenna” inviting children of all ages to come and read with her. She and Kim were at the library on June 13 for the first Read with Kenna date. This program exerts no pressure to read or join Kenna and Kim. June’s visit started out with just a few folks joining Kenna, but as the visit continued more people joined in either reading to her, to one another or just listening and being in the presence of the dog. Therein lies the “Power of the Paw”. Dogs just help us relax if we let them.
READ WITH KENNA dates:
July 15 at 11:00 am
September 9 at 11:00 am
October 14 at 11:00 am
November at 11:00 am
An August date may be added.
Pictures are of Kenna.and Kim doing their thing!
Just a note…I am still working on getting a picture of “Stuckie” the mummified hound in the tree. I’ve been jumping through hoops trying to get permission to use the picture from the website. I won’t be giving up any time soon.
Also, a safety tip, if your dog loves tearing the “squeaky” part out of a toy, beware. Always make sure you get the squeaker and throw it away. While on vacation I heard the story of a French Bulldog who loved to tear out squeakies and although his owner thought all of them had been thrown away, the pup ate six of them causing a life saving surgery to remove them from his stomach.
Until Next Time…Stay Paws-ative and enjoy your best friend! Happy Tails to You!
Cammie
