Therapy Dog Visits English Class

Last fall HRA’s tenth grade students explored several examples of oppressive, tyrannical leadership in the summer reading novels, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, 1984 by George Orwell, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis. The students came to realize how fortunate they are to live in a country where leaders do not fit one mold, and often think “outside the box” to encourage collaboration – even in professional competitive sports. For example, a recent news article last fall had described how a leading MLB manager, Joe Maddon, had brought a python into the team clubhouse to “wake up” the players and give them a bond beyond baseball.

What could the students do in our own class to “wake up” and bring them closer together? A python did not sound very inviting to the class. However, they could certainly invite a dog. So the plan developed to invite Mandy, a golden retriever therapy dog, with her handler, Mrs. Nancy Head. The weather cooperated with sunny warmth, after learning how to respectfully approach a working therapy dog, the students spent some time on the rug brushing her; then headed outside for some good ball-throwing and dog-walking. By the end of the class periods, the students had made two new friends: four-legged Mandy and her handler, Mrs. Head.