Hello 7-12 Grade Parents,
It is with great pleasure that I get to introduce to you one of our newest Bobcats. Meet Stella. Stella is a Professional Therapy Dog. Stella is a Labrador Retriever who has been in training to be a service dog since she was about 8 weeks old through a company called CARES (Canine Assistance Rehabilitation Education and Services). CARES is a not for profit organization that has been training and placing service dogs for about 30 years. As a Professional Therapy Dog, Stella has many skills she can perform, as well as, a knowledge of many commands.
I have the honor of getting to be Stella’s handler. Like I said, Stella was trained by the CARES company and in early August, I got to spend a week with the trainers of CARES and they assigned Stella to me. I spent the week getting to know all of her skills and commands, and she spent the week getting used to me being the one giving the commands. Stella will spend each school day with me. She will be working with students in my office, she will get to walk the halls with me, and she will also get to stop by classrooms if she is invited.
While Stella is trained as a service dog, a Professional Therapy Dog is different from a service dog. Most of us know when a dog is “working” we are not to distract or pet the dog. Stella is different. She is a “working” dog, but her work allows her to be petted and talked to by others. Since Stella is working, there will still be rules on when and how she is to be petted and talked to. Those rules will be addressed at school.
I have heard wonderful stories over the years about Professional Therapy Dogs in schools, and I heard even more while attending the class. I am very excited to see what Stella will be able to do for our students at Benton.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please feel free to email me at nnesbitt@benton.k12.ia.us
