Fairmont Elementary adds new dog program

Hazen's presence already proving beneficial to students

FAIRMONT - Fairmont Elementary's social and emotional support programs have gotten a boost from an out-of-the-box source, a dog named Hazen.

Fairmont Elementary Social Worker Amy Becker has had the idea to utilize a dog in her work for years. She considered doing so with her dog Ember several years ago, but the timing and time investment didn’t line up to make it happen.

Two years ago, Becker was looking to get a new dog with her family, but she wanted to see if the opportunity she had to pass on could now come to fruition.

"I met with Andy Traetow and Michelle Rosen and brought up my idea," she said. "They’ve been super supportive, and then Mr. Traetow talked with our school board to talk to them about that option, to see if the school board was supportive of that, and they were as well. When I was meeting with the breeder that we got him from, just looked for characteristics of what hopefully would lead to being a good therapy dog. It’s hard when they’re puppies because their demeanor and temperament change so much. It’s a bit of a shot in the dark as far as if it will turn out how you want it to."

The dog they ended up choosing was Hazen. Since he was a puppy, Becker worked with Hazen on obedience and on bringing him into social situations to make sure he could tolerate being around a good number of people. Becker found that Hazen was a suitable fit for the program she wanted to do.

"One of the really big things is they have to enjoy people," she said. "They have to enjoy being around people and having lots of people touching them, interacting with them, and that is something that Hazen enjoys, especially with kids. He really likes to be around kids. The other part is that basic obedience, so he’s not jumping all over the place. He can follow basic commands."

Since Hazen started at the beginning of the school year, Becker said they have been able to do a few things so far.

"He’s done a lot of greeting students in the morning," she said. "Part of why therapy dogs are good in schools is they create a good atmosphere. They help kids to belong. We’ve also been doing classroom lessons. I do a lot of mindfulness lessons where kids are learning about having calm, controlled bodies. We’ve done lessons about how they need to be calm and in control because that helps Hazen to be calm and in control. We’ve done lessons about that, as well as teaching kids how to interact with animals."

As Hazen has gotten integrated into the school environment, there have been tangible positive results from his inclusion.

"I had a parent who told me she had a student who was having trouble coming to school," Becker said. "That student one day saw Hazen standing outside, and from then on seemed much better transitioning into school."

From the students, parents and school district sides, Becker has seen a lot of positive reception to the inclusion of Hazen. To be able to add this to her repertoire of counseling and education at Fairmont Elementary School, Becker said she appreciates the school district for giving her this opportunity.

"Without that, it would be really difficult to make this big change to add a therapy dog consistently into our school building," she said. "I appreciate the welcome atmosphere that I’ve received to do this, and it’s really fun."

Hazen will continue to assist Becker in the elementary school building for this year. Short-term, Becker said the goal is to fine-tune the program to work out any minor issues. Long-term, Hazen is using this year to gain experience toward becoming a certified therapy dog. As Hazen is only a little over one year old, there is no rush to wrap up Hazen's work in the classroom any time soon.