NEWBURY – Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to announce that the Pentucket Regional School District is welcoming six professional therapy dogs who will be graduating from training in Kansas.
Teachers and administrators from the district, assigned as handlers, traveled to Ellsworth, Kansas to meet the dogs and train alongside them. The opportunity to become a handler was open to any district employee, and interested employees had to submit an application of interest. The Pentucket Educational Foundation subcommittee then selected one employee from each school.
All six schools in the district will be assigned a dog. Each dog is between 1-2 years old and has been training in several locations, including home placements and correctional facilities, over the course of their lives. The training was completed through the Canine Assistance Rehabilitation Education Services (C.A.R.E.S.) program at Ellsworth Correctional Facility. Training includes learning commands, following directions through obstacles, interacting with other individuals, and following certain rules.
Handler training included leading dogs in public using a leash and reward system, bonding by getting to know the dog’s unique mannerisms, as well as the specific commands that must be used for different situations.
All six dogs graduated from the C.A.R.E.S. program training on Friday, June 21, and are expected to arrive in Massachusetts on Saturday, June 22. Each dog will live with their assigned handler and family, accompanying them to school every day in the fall.
Professional therapy dogs will assist staff with de-escalation and provide comfort to students who may be experiencing or who have experienced trauma.
Pentucket Middle High School’s comfort dog, Dice, retired at the end of the current school year. Dice’s handler was Special Education Teacher Pam Shedd.
Due to the positive impact Dice had on students, the Pentucket School Committee voted unanimously to approve acquiring six professional therapy dogs, costing about $24,000.
Transportation, projected to cost about $12,000, was funded through efforts by the Pentucket Education Foundation (PEF) and grant funding from New England Biolabs (NEB).
- PEF raised funds by starting the campaign titled “Paws for Pentucket” and raised just under $8,000 through two fundraising efforts. Fundraising efforts included asking families to contribute a $10 donation per paw which tracks the dogs’ journey from Kansas to Pentucket and gets posted and moves across maps. Additionally, for any contribution of $100 or more, a student won a day with Dice in class.
- NEB is an organization that funds public school projects each year and had previously funded equipment and other items for service dogs in other towns. NEB awarded the district a $5,600 grant. The NEB grant was applied for by Bagnall Special Education Coordinator Caitlin Guilfoil.
