I know something is up as soon as my mom comes into the room. I jump up from my bed, tail wagging in anticipation. Do I get to go to work today? I can almost feel the little hands petting me and hear the kids telling me how cute I am. I follow my mom around the house as she gets ready for work, reluctant to let her out of my sight. Did I get my signals right? Yes! She’s getting out the scarf that I wear to schools, and my harness! Happy dance, wiggle butt! Today is my day!
We head out the door together, and I’m prancing with every step. Hop up into the car—buckle up for safety—and away we go. Travel time is rest time for me, so I lie down on the seat and take a quick nap. (Not a cat nap, mind you. I leave that to my feline friends.) Soon we pull up to the school, and my excitement builds. Out of the car and off to locate a grassy spot for a quick potty break, then it’s into the school to find our first class.
As soon as we walk in the classroom the oohs and aahs start. “It’s a dog! Is it a boy or girl? Can we pet her? Is she nice? What’s her name?” While my mom answers their questions and settles in, I move in to start collecting pets and loves from the students. Oops—it’s time for the talking to begin. That’s my signal to lie down and rest for a bit.
“Where do you think dogs like to have you pet them?” That question is my cue to get up and join in the presentation. I help my mom demonstrate good petting places to the young students: my back, my chest, behind my ears (careful, please!), even my tummy if I roll over.
And now comes the best part of the visit! The students come up a few at a time and pet me and talk to me. Oh happy day! We leave each child with a handout and a sticker with my picture on it to remember our visit, and then we head to the next classroom to teach more students about dog safety (and petting).
When we are done with the school visit, it’s time for a loooong nap, because even great dogs like me get tired from so much activity. Who would have thought when I was hanging out on the farm that I would someday have my own career as a therapy dog. I’m a rock star dog in a job that rocks!
Maddie and her human work partner, Barb, are two of the Humane Educators at OHS. Ranger and his human partner, Jessica, make up the other Humane Education team that visits local classrooms.
Photos: Dogs at Work
About Classroom Presentations
OHS Humane Educators visit public and private schools throughout the Portland metro area to give humane education presentations to students age 5 through adults. Presentations are free of charge and are available from June through September each year. Please spread the word!
Focusing on elementary through high school-aged students, our educators give age-specific presentations on topics including:
Safety Around Dogs (Grades K-5)
Canine Body Language / Advanced Safety Around Dogs (Grades 6-12)
Basic Pet Care & Responsibilities (Grades 3-8)
All About OHS (Grades 3-12)
Dogs With Jobs (Grades 4-12)
Pet-Related Careers (Grades 7-12)
Learn more about OHS classroom presentations here »
More about the Humane Education department and programs for youths and adults »
Feedback from Teachers
“This was wonderful. Barb was a pleasure to talk to, and a great presenter who was very patient with our sometimes rowdy group. The presentations were informative and fun. Our kids gave us positive feedback as well. Thank you!”
“Maddie is a terrific Ambassador for Good Dogs.”
“Thank you for coming – there was a lot of great information for the second graders! Even one of my students that was fearful of dogs petted Ranger at the very end. Education is powerful!”
“Jessica and Ranger were great! Ranger seemed very comfortable in our classroom – even with a large group of very interested kindergarten students and Jessica did a wonderful job of presenting meaningful information to our kindergarteners. Thanks so much!”
“Thank you! We loved having Barb and Maddie visit and I felt that my students learned valuable information about how to be safe around dogs. I think adults would benefit from this, too!”
