We have exciting news here at Maltby this year! We have our very own facility dog or therapy dog. His name is Caesar and he is a beautiful black Labrador Retriever. We are the first public school in Michigan to own a therapy dog! He spends his days in the counseling office, in classrooms, the computer lab, and visiting the media center. Caesar loves to have students read to him. Caesar was trained for his job by For Better Independence, a non-profit group that trains many different types of service or assistance dogs.
Therapy Dogs by Linda Tagliaferro explains what these specially trained dogs do for people and how they are trained from the time they are puppies. Some dogs help people or kids feel better when they are in the hospital or a nursing home. Some dogs can even help with physical therapy or if someone is in pain from a medical procedure. Other dogs can just offer a warm, furry shoulder to hug when things get upsetting at school.
Caesar is becoming a little famous around our town. He has even been on television. If you would like to see a video clip of Caesar and the kids at our school, click on the book title above.
