Four therapy dogs enter Sterling schools’ halls

STERLING – Some very special friends have been warming the hearts of Sterling’s public school students.

Their names are Oxford, Chuli, Clem and Brazil and, as the district’s newest professional therapy dogs, their mission is to attend school with their staff member handler to comfort, calm and be loved by the hundreds of students who enter the district’s hallways and classrooms each day.

The four officially went on duty the week of Jan 22. Since that time, each has been introduced to and is now settling in at their assigned building. Oxford and Chuli, both black Labradors, are at Jefferson Elementary and Franklin Elementary, respectively. Clem, a golden retriever, is at Washington Elementary, while Brazil, a 15-pound standard poodle, is at Challand Middle School.

By joining the ranks with veteran professional therapy dogs – Scone at Sterling High School and Hank at Lincoln Elementary – the four dogs fulfill the district’s long-term goal of having a service dog at each school.

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Counselor Cami Hartman and therapy dog Scone make a dynamic duo at Sterling High School. (Alex T. Paschal)

It’s a goal that got its start with Cami Hartman, ninth grade counselor at Sterling High School. In 2016, Hartman introduced the idea of bringing a professional therapy dog into the school district to help deal with the increase in students who needed emotional assistance.

“I was just looking for another way to try to meet that need,” she said. With 1,000 students and four counselors, “it’s like what else could we have that can provide assistance when we’re meeting individual students and in groups.”

She decided a therapy dog would be a great addition, but she had some convincing to do.

“There’s just so many things that go into it,” she said. “It’s been years in the making.”

There was hesitation on the part of the district for – as Superintendent Tad Everett calls them – the “what-ifs.”

“[Hartman] came to me at that time and simply provided her interest in wanting to partner to have a service dog,” he said. “At that stage I was not fully in support. I was fairly skeptical.”

She continued to provide information to Everett. Board policy updates, insurance questions and other concerns surfaced, but as they were addressed the district decided to pursue bringing in a professional therapy dog.

In October 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had eased a bit, Hartman finally was able to travel to Kansas to train and receive Scone, a standard poodle with caramel-colored fur, who was made available to Hartman through CARES Inc. CARES utilizes a partnership with correctional facilities that select inmates to train puppies for the program. After that training, the canines go to a foster home to practice in public, then later are placed with handlers and go on to serve as a mobility support, medical alert, therapeutic support, signal or professional therapy dog with a teacher, counselor, nurse or social worker.

It takes anywhere from 2½ to 3 years to get a dog from CARES; however, in Hartman’s case it took about 3½ years as a result of delays caused by the pandemic.

As she traveled to Kansas, she didn’t know anything about the dog awaiting her.

“I didn’t know what type of dog I was getting. I did not know his name or gender,” she said. “It was a huge surprise.”

Scone’s first three years in the district were spent with Hartman at Jefferson Elementary. He began his work at the high school this year when Hartman became counselor there. His favorite time of the day is the passing period, Hartman said. When he hears the school bell, he knows to head with Hartman to the hall, where students have access to him and can give him a quick pet between classes.

Hartman said therapy dogs are particularly good with students who have experienced trauma and very tuned in to a student’s emotions. Any student who needs the emotional support can meet with Scone one-on-one in her office. Scone knows to stretch out next to the student to signal he is there and will put his head on their leg.

Therapy dogs not only provide comfort but they also are part of a rewards system – say for a contest. Scone also attends basketball and football games and was in the homecoming parade.

“Once I saw Cami and Scone interact with our students, I was blown away,” Everett said.

Soon after Scone arrived, Hank, who received local training and is handled by Jackie Watson at Lincoln, joined the district’s team.

As successes were noted, plans were made to add four more dogs in the hopes to have a dog at each building. When the district learned four dogs would be available through CARES, it decided to bring them on board. Hartman said each principal selected who would be the school’s dog handler and all four chose to go through CARES. The handler, not the school, owns the dog. All four handlers – Amy Hoffman from Challand, Jessica Truesdon at Washington, Jason Brown at Franklin and Heather Wittenauer at Jefferson – as well as Hartman and Scone, traveled to CARES in mid-January when the four met their dogs for the first time. Hartman brought Scone along so that he could take the public access test for recertification.

Looking back over the program’s history and its positive social-emotional impact on students, Everett said all the credit goes to Hartman and the handlers’ commitment.

“The real heart of this program has been our handlers,” he said. “They have done the legwork and they’ve partnered with local organizations to get dog food and pet grooming because there are requirements for all that, and veterinary services. They’ve done the training and they’ve taken on the costs.”

He said he now is 100% in favor of therapy dogs in schools.

“I sing the praises of our service learning dogs,” he said. “And our students are not only in love with them, but they treat them as their own, and they provide a service to our students ... we’ve not seen this level of success in order to deescalate an emotional student and that is really the value we get with our service learning dogs.”