Charlie the Therapy Dog Visits Hull High School
By Hull High Pirate
Eye News Staff
On Friday, September 22, 2017, students at Hull High School
had a visit with a therapy dog named Charlie aka “Chuckles” and his owner/certified
dog behaviorist, Nicole Ribeiro. Charlie, who is a German and Australian
Shepherd mix, spent most of his time in the art room where he greeted students
from the Art, Journalism, and South Shore Educational Collaborative classes.
Students in these classes learned about Ribeiro’s background, the role and
certification process of a therapy dog, and some had the opportunity to draw
Charlie as part of their figure drawing lesson.
Ribeiro began her presentation by sharing a bit about her
background. She has been a professional dog trainer for 16 years and started
when she was selected as a trainer during her time in the military. While in
the military, she taught dogs how to detect bombs. After five years in this
role, Ribeiro left the military to pursue additional degrees and open up a
business. She said, “I have a bachelor’s
degree in science and psychology and learning theory and a master’s degree in
behavioral medicine and animal behavior. I am almost done with my second master’s
in applied animal ethology.” She is currently the co-owner of adASTRA East
Training and Pet Care, which is based out of Quincy, MA. Ribeiro says what she
is doing now is her dream job but, “I personally would like to focus more on
doing animal rehab and working with animals with a wellness and rehab sense.” Although
she started out with military dogs, Charlie is not trained to detect bombs.
Instead, he is trained to be a therapy dog.
A therapy dog is a dog that has specialized training to be
of assistance to others and provide comfort to a group. They are different than
service dogs, which are trained to provide a specific service to their owner. Therapy
dogs are used in a variety of settings such as schools, nursing homes,
airports, courts, and hospitals. Charlie has been helping out in a variety of
reading programs, by allowing nervous children to read aloud to him. At Hull
High, he served as a figure drawing model and provided comfort and smiles to
those he encountered throughout the day.
To become a certified therapy dog, Ribeiro and Charlie worked
with an organization called Dog Bones. Dog Bones is a certifying body that
provides testing and certification for therapy dogs, as well as sets up jobs
for the dogs to work in once they complete their certification. Ribeiro takes
Charlie volunteering, and since his certification, the duo has logged about 150
hours of service.
To become a therapy dog, the dogs have to go through
extensive training. For example, they are taught to recognize if someone is
afraid of dogs so they won't rush up to them. Charlie completed a four week
class of basic obedience to teach him how to do things such as walk on a loose
leash, sit, stay, and leave it, and also to test his temperament.
Whether it was drawing Charlie, petting Charlie, or
learning about Nicole and Charlie’s work, overall, students had a great time
meeting Charlie, and he boosted everyone's spirits. It was a unique experience
that shed light on what it's really like for therapy dogs and what it takes to
be one. So, when you’re feeling down, a
therapy dog, or even any dog, will be able to help!
