Dowling Elementary School has a little sparkle.
Sparkle, our mini golden doodle, turned 1 in July and weighs about 26 pounds.
Principal Julie Marshall said Sparkle, now a certified therapy dog, was donated to her. She is white, fluffy, playful and has big brown eyes.
Marshall’s daughter worked with a nurse practitioner in the emergency room and told the nurse practitioner that her mother wanted a therapy dog for Dowling.
It turns out that a woman and her husband are breeding Goldendoodles. Sparkle is certified by the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.
“She actually gave her to me with the understanding that I would continue training and be certified as a therapy dog to bring her to school. It was that sometimes I would send pictures of the kids with her…I did that throughout the first year,” Marshall said through her daughter.
Sparkle’s work has changed over the past year. She comes once a week and greets students in the morning and says goodbye to her in the afternoon.
Marshall will take her to the classroom if the teacher asks her to.
“She’s also an incentive in their action plan. I have a student who says that his reward is to take medicine every day, come on the day she’s here, and sit here for 10 to 15 minutes.Today he came in and sat on the floor. , she sat on his lap and he had a lead and love him and he talked to her so behaviorally for some of our children It was a good reward.
Sparkle also eases student anxiety.
“When they come in with anxiety, like today, the first day they come back from a long break, it’s a good way to come in and be able to sit for a little while. , she calms those kids down, which is good too because it makes them feel like they can get up and go to class and get through the day,” she added.
Sparkle used to come every day last year.
“But this year the school district has a policy on therapy dogs and a process to approve bringing[them]to campus…they approved her to come one day a week. I hope we can come back for more days in the week again, when she’s not here every day the kids really miss her and when is she here?
This year Sparkle comes to Dowling on Marshall’s schedule. For example, she doesn’t have a meeting after her work, so there’s no need to leave or take her Sparkle to school.
“I want her to come every day and with the kids and with the teachers,” Marshall said.
Sparkle has a calming effect on everyone.
“It’s interesting that the teacher says, oh, I’m glad she’s here today. I needed this,” said Marshall.
She added that Golden Doodles are very smart and intuitive. Sparkle isn’t bothered by her 440 kindergarten through her fifth grade children who attend Dowling, either.
“If she hears a child crying in a nurse’s office, she wants to sit with her, or she senses that someone is upset or has heightened anxiety. is good,” said Marshall.
They started training Sparkle with people who went to dog trainers when she was about two months old. They would go to public parks and public places to practice basic commands and walking on a leash.
“Of course, when she was a puppy, she was very into food. It worked really well, and then when she got older and could do more, I started working with her trainer. One trainer and one on one or two dogs. We worked on everything we knew she would be tested on. You don’t want them to run, or startle them or make them act if something comes along like someone in a wheelchair or walker. So we spent a lot of time training the leash and after that we just worked on the basic commands and she really made a lot of progress with it.When we took the test it was 3 I didn’t realize it at first because it consisted of days…we did a basic test here at school in an environment where she is most of the time. They’ll tell you to go to a medical facility and then to a public facility to see if you behave like that,” Marshall said.
On one of the test days, they went to the At Home store in the mall.
There was a person on a walker. There were small children running up to her, so the testers are looking to see if she can stay calm in the situation. Will she lie down and let the person pet her if she wants? Will a wheelchair or walker scare her? Will loud noises frighten her? To see how they react. It was just three days of the same kind of different situation,” Marshall said.
Sparkle was certified in September.
“Every year we have to do so many hours of therapy to stay certified,” she added.
Taking Sparkle to work with her doesn’t count as treatment time.
“She has to do a few other things besides coming to school with the kids. You can go to a birthday party’ or you can go to the hospital to maintain your certification.
She also needs to have insurance to work with, not just therapeutic work.
“I’ve done it all, but I feel like you’re protecting us up front, so don’t worry about it. was sent home to make sure families knew she was on campus, and parents could ask if their children were allergic to pet dander or had a bad experience in the past. Please let us know if you are afraid of animals because you may have done so,” Marshall said.
She added that the majority of parents acknowledge that Sparkle is around their students.
At the entrance to the school is a poster with a picture of Sparkle, stating that she works there, her name, weight, breed of dog and age.
Since she isn’t around much this year, parents and students ask how many days she’s been there and why she’s not there.
“She’s become part of our Dowling community,” said Marshall.
Marshall said he had read over the years about the effects of therapy dogs, especially on children.
“We know that children who come to us, especially after COVID and even before, sometimes have a lot of trauma and a lot of mental health needs. When I was in Hayes we had a dog, it wasn’t mine and she was in school while I was there. I thought she would be a great addition to this campus because it had such a big impact on personality.
She just got the name Sparkle, and students sometimes call her Sprinkle.
“She answers just about anything,” said Marshall. But Sparkle now fits her personality.
When she’s not at school, Sparkle stays with Marshall.
To get her in the car, Marshall tells her he’s going to see the kids.
When Marshall comes to school on weekends or during recess, she roams the hallways and seems to wonder where everyone is.
“I think she likes it because she likes attention,” Marshall said.
Nine-year-old third graders Isaac Thompson and Jemma Gallegos have fun around Sparkle.
“She’s very supportive and I like her,” said Gallegos.
She added that her day goes faster with Sparkle.
“She’s so fluffy and cute,” Thompson said.
