Local therapy dogs ease the pain, grief at Perry School

     On Jan. 4, the State of Iowa was upended with the news of a school shooting in Perry, Iowa. The tragic shooting resulted in the death of a sixth-grade student, and 10 days, later, the death of Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger. Four other students were injured.

   “We reflect on the pain, sorrow, and grief following Thursday’s horrific act of violence at our high school,” read a statement from Jan. 5 on the Perry Community School District’s website. “Our grief is immeasurable as we understand lives are forever changed and our community will never be the same.”

   To help ease the grief and sadness as students and staff at Perry returned to the classrooms, two local entities offered their assistance, love, support, and compassion…

   Dalton Barrier, adventure director at Camp Courageous, and Skye, Camp’s therapy dog, were on hand at Perry Elementary School on their first day back, Jan. 24, as well as Jan. 31, the first day back for Perry High School.

   Shannon Guyer, PreK-12 behavior/special education coach, and Rebecca DeWitte, 9-12 instructional coach, both with the Monticello Community School District (MCSD), along with the new MCSD therapy dog, Fidget, also traveled to Perry. They visited the elementary school on Jan. 25, their second day back to school. They returned on Feb. 2 for the high school’s third day back.

   Perry Elementary School is K-5. Their middle and school are one complex, 6-12 grades.

   Both Camp Courageous and the MCSD heard about the opportunity to help out the Perry district from Superstar Service Dogs, LLC, out of Mount Vernon. This is the organization that trained both Skye and Fidget.

   “We were contacted a week after the shooting to help line up therapy dogs as the school was planning to return to school,” shared Barrier. “Superstar reached out to Perry (schools).”

   On the two days that Barrier and Skye were at Perry there were a couple of other therapy dogs as well.

   Barrier explained their purpose was to help the students ease back into a routine and help them to focus on their first days back in the classrooms.

   “I would bring Skye into the classrooms, helping the students to keep a positive mindset.”

   Skye, who is half Irish wolf and half poodle, was a hit with the younger elementary kids.

   “They had a lot of excitement,” recalled Barrier of seeing a dog walk into their classrooms. “They would ask me a lot of questions about Skye.”

   Barrier said the Perry school district is a diverse school district.

   “We wanted to let them know what we support them during this tragedy; it can happen in any town,” he said.

   As a non-profit, Camp Courageous receives a lot of support from all over the State of Iowa. Barrier said it’s important them show that same support back to others.

   “We want to be there for the students and faculty during a hard time.”

   He said this is also “real world training” for Skye.

   “He gets to do what he’s trained for, to be a support system,” added Barrier.

   Perry, Iowa, has roughly 3,000 more people than Monticello, Iowa. So, their school district is a little larger than the MCSD.

   “Their elementary has up to six sections per grade level,” noted Guyer.

   Guyer and her family are the owners of Fidget, an 11-month-old Sheepadoodle.

   “She is still a puppy,” Guyer said.

   While Fidget is still going through training and certifications, she has been introduced to both elementary schools and the middle school here in Monticello.

   Guyer brought Fidget to Perry schools, with DeWitte handling “Rosey,” one of the dogs of the owner of Superstar Service Dogs.

   “Dr. (Brian) Jaeger was immediately behind us going and said ‘yes,’” shared Guyer of the MCSD’s support of Perry. “Our principals were very much in support of us going, too. We wanted to show our support in any way we can.”

   “It’s a small thing we can do,” added DeWitte.

   While at Perry schools, Guyer explained it was their job to comfort the students and staff and offer some joy during a difficult time.

   “We wanted to help the students feel relaxed and feel safe coming back to school.”

   Students ran up to pet the therapy dogs and even talked to the dogs.

   After going from room to room, Guyer and DeWitte took their dogs into the school library, which was staged for additional one-on-one time for the students and the therapy dogs.

   “It was meant for a little extra comfort,” added Guyer. “It helped them to calm down and take a breath.”

   Aside from the care the therapy dogs provided, Guyer and DeWitte also took the time to visit with the staff at Perry.

   “We know what the teachers went through and what they continue to go through,” DeWitte said from her perspective as a teacher, too. “They were really holding it together for the students.”

   Guyer said they heard from some of the teachers that they appreciated having them there.

   “If a tragedy hit our district, we would also benefit from the support offered to us by others,” she said.

   Guyer said Fidget is a therapy dog who “loves to work.” Going on a field trip to Perry schools gave her a taste for the kinds of tasks she might face within the MCSD.

   “We plan to fully introduce her to the MCSD next school year.”

   Guyer worked with MCSD Curriculum and Special Programs Director Robyn Ponder to write a grant to bring another therapy dog back to the MCSD, with support from the school board. Because of Guyer’s role in the district, working in each of the buildings, it was decided she’d be the ideal handler.

   “We are a dog family,” she said with a smile.