'Dog day' magical experience for students

Vicki Guiffre is a fifth-grade teacher at Parkview Elementary, who recently shared an interesting story.

A year ago, she bought a Great Pyrenees puppy for the family. Knowing she would need some help training, she looked into available local dog training services.

She found one and began training, soon visiting nursing homes as her involvement with therapy dogs increased.

Guiffre noted how the process really drew out her shy daughter, transforming and empowering her, thanks to the dogs. Guiffre then met with her school principal, Carrie Geisler, to see about doing a whole school assembly, introducing and demonstrating service and therapy dogs.

Then, they decided to incorporate it into their “YAY-Day” on Friday.

Teachers interested in having the trained dogs in their classrooms let Guiffre know and the dog-training crew comes by and does a brief presentation, then lets the dogs interact with the kids. Guiffre organizes the schedule, permission slips, and arrangements.

As one would imagine, the dogs are an enormous success with the kids. Observing a kindergarten classroom on their “dog day,” it was easy to see how beneficial it was for students.

These lovable, gentle dogs are magical, and what student doesn’t want to get close to whisper their secrets or read a book to these gentle souls, who have been trained to do just that?

I was in full agreement with the kindergartners in not wanting to leave at the end of that day. This successful program is being expanded and will also be visiting Lockwood Elementary, as soon as arrangements have been finalized.

As a dog-lover myself, this magical experience with these highly trained dogs reminded me of a meme seen floating around social media, “All dogs are therapy dogs; the majority of them are just freelancing.”

Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy is the instructional technology coordinator for Clovis Municipal Schools. She can be reached at:

[email protected]