Students Want Therapy Dogs
September 24, 2020
Essexville-Hampton Public Schools’ robotics program has reached the final stage of a national grant competition that could win it $25,000 toward a goal of bringing full-time therapy dogs to each building in the Bay County district.
The State Farm Neighborhood Assist program has 200 finalist competing for 40 $25,000 service grants, and public voting for the competition began Wednesday, Sept. 23. As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, the district was 15th out of 200 on the leaderboard and has a good shot at securing a grant, said Ethan Shannon, robotics teacher and team mentor for “The E-Ville Empire” at Essexville-Hampton’s Garber High School.
As of Thursday morning, Sept. 24, the team has fallen to 21st, but is still solidly within the margins of winning a grant.
People can sign up on State Farm’s website to cast up to 10 votes a day for their favorite proposal. Voting ends on Friday, Oct. 2, and State Farm will announce the winners on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
FIRST robotics teams foster a culture of community service, Shannon said, which led a group of his high schoolers to look a team project to help their fellow students.
The students found that therapy dogs could help improve the mental health of the community, which has become more relevant as anxiety-related issues spike during the novel coronavirus pandemic, Shannon said. Kids having access to a therapy dog can help improve self esteem, reduce anxiety and calm students in crisis, he said.
“To be able to de-stress with one of those animals is like nothing else we have for any of those kids right now,” Shannon said. “It’s something that can really, really make a positive impact on the school.”
Over the past year, the program raised nearly $5,000 to bring its first dog, a Shetland sheepdog named Chip, to Verellen Elementary School. Chip is ready to start his job as soon as in-person classes resume, Shannon said.
“After this COVID thing… There’s gonna be a lot of anxious kids out there, especially the little ones,” Shannon said. “We’re excited (Chip’s) gonna be part of it too.”
Winning the grant would likely provide enough funding to finish the students’ goal of getting three more dogs for the community, Shannon said. The dogs would have classroom presence at the high school, middle school and two elementary buildings, and would also be used in outreach programs at the local Boys & Girls Club, hospitals, nursing homes and group homes, he said.
The students thought it would take much longer to raise the money to buy Chip alone, Shannon said. Winning the grant and reaching their goal would be the fulfillment of a dream for them, he said.
Most Recent News
Former Victoria man’s diabetic alert dog helps him get back to life
When Luke Hengen’s diabetes worsened in his early twenties, it stripped him of the outdoor activities where the country kid felt at home. Countless wilderness adventures and years of hard-fought football games took a toll on his body, to the point where he could no longer sense when his blood sugar was too high or […]
Students Get Therapy Dog
When middle school students return to class on Jan. 11, they’ll find a new face at the door: Daisy. Daisy is a therapy dog and the personal pet of Rob Kreger, principal of the Rock L. Butler Middle School. The five-year-old golden retriever is not a school pet or mascot, but rather a working dog […]
Therapy Dogtor
Last March, Caroline Benzel, a third-year medical student, began to notice the stress and discomfort her nurse friends were feeling from the pressures of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. “[Personal protective equipment] can be really rough on the skin,” Benzel, 31, tells PEOPLE. Benzel and her 3-year-old Rottweiler, Loki (who’s also a therapy dog) hatched a […]
Therapy Dog Pups
When Stanley the miniature fox terrier’s owner passed away, the little dog started a ‘paw-some’ new role – bringing puppy love to some of the Gold Coast’s oldest residents. After Carinity Cedarbrook Diversional Therapist Julianne Staff adopted Stanley, he began visiting the aged care community at Mudgeeraba as a therapy dog. Therapy dogs help to […]
Puppy Cams
A nonprofit is providing an unusual form of therapy for those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic – puppy cams! “You spend five minutes with a puppy and try not to smile,” said registered nurse Robin Lingg Lagrone. Lingg Lagrone says watching little furballs wag their tails and prance on their paws helps […]
Pet Committee
When Moore County’s school doors were abruptly closed earlier in 2020, two- and four-legged volunteers from the Moore County Citizens’ Pet Responsibility Committee (PRC) were in their 12th year of presenting a six-session Pet Responsibility Education Program for fourth-graders. The PRC quickly shifted gears and placed its program materials online as part of a home […]