From their earliest years, animals fascinate
healthy children. Dogs, cats, rabbits, and birds
– their movements, sounds, nature, their
softness, and often cuddliness are attractive
to most kids.
I first began incorporating animals in my classroom
5 years ago. As a first-year elementary special
education teacher, I had a classroom of deaf and
hard of hearing students who also had various
behavioral needs.
I am an occupational therapist and work for
Jackson Education Service District in Central
Point, OR, in a program that serves students with
autism, and/or hearing, visual, and severe orthopedic
impairments, in 5 neighboring counties.
Pet Partners® Tamara Franks and
Golden Retriever Barnabas of Bryan, Texas, made
a very big impression when they visited the students
at Carver Early Childhood Elementary – a
school for 4-year-olds from low-income families.
Walk into the school library on any Wednesday
afternoon at 3:00 pm at Bennion Elementary School
in Salt Lake City, Utah, and you will see a most
unique and unexpected sight – children who
have had difficulty in learning to read reading
stories to therapy dogs.
Where or how do you begin a Delta Pet Partners
visiting group? Look at your community and see
what needs you can fill. Create a clearly defined
mission that is specific to the needs in your
community and the needs of your volunteers.
Ah, the media - at times we curse them with
the same breath that we covet their attention!
How can we make the most of this relationship?
How can we court them to show off our activities
and portray our teams in the best way possible?
Most of us who have been visiting for a while
have "war stories," many involving potentially
dangerous situations that could have easily been
avoided with better training (hindsight is always
20/20), more information, or greater mindfulness.
Most of us who have been visiting for a while
have "war stories," many involving potentially
dangerous situations that could have easily been
avoided with better training (hindsight is always
20/20), more information, or greater mindfulness.
Animal-Assisted Activity (AAA) visits to families
who are temporarily homeless can be very rewarding
while presenting unique challenges. This issue
has some tips and insights on preparing for this
type of visit.
Schnauzer Susie and I visit the Comprehensive
Cancer Center at the University of Alabama in
Birmingham. Most visits are with 2 or 3 people
at a time, not overwhelming for a beginning team
like us.
You know those wonder dogs and their owners
who win awards for service to the community. They
cause mute kids to speak or paralyzed individuals
to walk.
