Stacey and Annie

FACILITY DOG TEAM: Teamed Fall, 2006

ANNIE'S STORY by Stacey Musso “Annie’s presence at New Dawn High School has been beneficial since her first day at school! She quickly developed the habit of waiting excitedly outside to greet the students each morning as they exit the school bus. When they spot her tail wagging and the eager look in her eyes, the kids immediately light up. It’s a perfect way to start their day. On mornings that Annie is not outside, three or four students rush past the secretary to see if they can say “hi” to her in my office. It’s a nice time for me to check in with the kids also. Many times while petting Annie they feel comfortable telling me the tales of their evening or weekend, without reservation. Annie has been an incredible catalyst to brighten the mood of our day treatment program. Kids stop by to check on Annie throughout their school day. Both growing up and as an adult, I’ve always had a dog. I fully believe in the therapeutic effects of pets. Despite these feelings and my firm belief that Annie would have a positive impact, I wasn’t exactly sure what that would look like. Annie showed me right away! During her first official week of work at New Dawn she made incredible impacts on two new students who did not want to come to our school. The first was a very depressed young woman who hadn’t been to school in over a year due to a debilitating mental illness and several hospitalizations. When she reluctantly entered our campus she wasn’t feeling well and didn’t plan to stay long. Annie greeted her excitedly with a ball in her mouth. The girl began to laugh and interact with Annie. Throughout our intake meeting and tour of the campus, Annie followed the teen everywhere. Before the family left, the young lady turned to her mom and said, “I think I’m going to like it here a lot!” Her mom was thrilled, and a bit overwhelmed at her daughter’s change of attitude! A couple of days later I was in a meeting and Annie was tucked peacefully under my desk. In the lobby, my secretary and the program therapist were debating whether to interrupt my meeting to get Annie. They had a difficult situation and did not know what else to do. An angry mother and grandmother had complained that they did not feel that they were given enough information about their son’s change of placement and they were very reluctant to have him begin at our school. The son was quietly sitting a few feet away. When I came out of the meeting, Annie joined me and wanted to see who our new visitors were. She ran up to the young man and he began to pet her. I asked if he liked dogs, and he said he did, but that his mom loved dogs. So I asked him to introduce Annie to his mom. Naturally, his mom fell in love with Annie! She began asking a lot of questions about Annie, our school program, and the range of therapeutic activities we have for our students. In a few short minutes, she was signing his enrollment packet and setting up his bus transportation--all with Annie by her side! The students at New Dawn have had very few successes in life, especially in their previous school settings. We work hard to help them feel important and encouraged about learning new things. Their relationship with Annie has been a valuable aid to their learning experience. They get really excited when they tell her to sit, and she does--or when they throw the ball to her and she brings it right back. The little things mean so much to them. On a daily basis, students ask to help brush her, walk her and even take her to the field to toilet. Our work has only just begun. I am helping one of our teachers develop an entire humane animal education curriculum. We are also incorporating Annie into our Student Council, Peer Groups, and our behavioral management system. Because our students need volunteer experience as a part of their graduation requirements, we are looking into developing a relationship with the San Diego Humane Society. Some of the differences Annie is making are subtle, some more profound. I will try to document them as they come up so that we can all share in the journey of her special work with these wonderful kids!”