Northwest Allen County School’s Cedar Canyon Elementary introduced a therapy dog to students Tuesday, the first of her kind in a local Allen County school.
Birdie Blue is an 11-month-old Australian labradoodle who will begin working at Cedar Canyon three days a week in the next few weeks, helping students both academically and emotionally.
Principal Courtney Bailey began the process of bringing in a therapy dog nearly two years ago, when she approached the school board to get approval and create a policy for therapy dogs.
“So, dogs are great. Through research you’re able to see that they do a nice job of helping with the school environment, helps with reading and it just brings about a calmness within an environment.”
Birdie, named for the Cedar Canyon falcons with her middle name Blue chosen by students, is trained for physical affection, but also to sit calmly while students read aloud to her, practicing that skill.
The school raised $20,000 for the training for Birdie and now she’ll live with Bailey, who will take on any further costs. She says she’d like to see Birdie be able to visit other NACS schools in the future.
