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Preparing for life Photo by Bob Pennell Dogs help special ed kids learn confidence By PAUL FATTIG EAGLE POINT � When Tinkerbell comes to Little Butte Intermediate School, Amber Hervey invariably makes a beeline for her pal. "She�s a good friend,�� explained the shy fifth-grader. "I like her ." Amber�s friend isn�t a two-legged student, but a dog from the Jackson County Animal Shelter. The dog works with special education students like Amber who, in turn, teach their four-legged friends how to act around humans. No, the school hasn�t gone to the dogs. Teachers here still focus on the classes needed to prepare students for life. But the school is reaching out to those students who are often difficult to reach, thanks to a unique program created by DahnaDow and Shirley Adams. ``These are kids who learn differently,�� said Dow, a community health nurse who is completing her master�s degree in social work at Southern Oregon University and doing her practicum at Little Butte school. ``This helps students build self esteem,�� said Dow. ``If you don�t have self esteem or confidence, you aren�t willing to try. This gives them both.�� Adams, a child development specialist at the school who began using dogs for therapy in private practice 30 years ago, agreed. When special education students begin teaching dogs, they are also learning valuable social skills, she said. For instance, one student who is sometimes picked on by other students is being taught to be more assertive by working with Tinkerbell. ``He is very non-assertive,�� Adams said. ``So we�ve been working with him, teaching him to use his `boss voice� with her. We�re helping him transfer that skill over to socializing with kids.�� During a training session Monday morning, Matt Vargas, a fourth-grade student, initially had trouble getting Tinkerbell to stop pulling on the leash. ``Stop,�� Matt said softly. ``Use your boss voice,�� Adams urged. ``Stop!�� Matt said, prompting Tinkerbell to stop pulling and start wagging her tail. Matt patted the dog and grinned. ``I don�t know of any other schools doing this now, although I understand some are starting to,�� Adams said. ``Ours is unique because we use dogs from the pound.�� Dow, who volunteers at the Jackson County Animal Shelter, was able to obtain shelter dogs, all of them thoroughly screened. ``The principal was wonderful in allowing us to try this outside-the-box kind of behavior,�� Dow said. School Principal Sam Chimento says the program has been good for the school and the shelter. ``The kids gain in responsibility and self esteem,�� he observed. ``It�s also a worthwhile cause. ``There is a natural fit between kids and domestic pets,�� he added. ``It�s working well.�� One student couldn�t handle more than five minutes of social interaction before he started working with Tinkerbell, Dow said. ``Now he socializes 20 minutes, 25 minutes at a time,�� she said. ``You can watch his body posture change because he is feeling confident. �� Confidence is vital to students who face learning difficulties, she said. ``This is a population that gets taken advantage of easier once they become older,�� she said. ``So we teach them to use the `boss voice� to tell Tinkerbell to sit. �� That assertive voice is important in building that confidence, she said. ``You also notice that when other kids walk by, all of a sudden this kid has expertise,�� Dow said. ``There are so many ways these kids benefit by working with Tinkerbell. �� The animals benefit, too. Their time with the students makes them behave better. Tinkerbell succeeds Prince, a dog that found a home thanks to the social skills he learned from the students. ``One of the goals of the program is to get kids to train the dogs to make the dog more adoptable,�� Dow said. ``It�s a win-win for everyone involved. �� But don�t get any ideas about adopting Tinkerbell. ``I�ve already adopted her,�� Dow said. ``She�s one of a kind. She�s my therapy dog now.�� Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA