ALLEGANY, N.Y. — At first glance, “Moose” looks and acts like most puppies with his rolling over and playing with gadgets and toys.
The difference with Moose, a goldendoodle therapy dog at Allegany-Limestone Middle/High School, is that even at the age of 3 months, he not only snuggles with students, but also obeys commands
His owner, Misty Schuman, who is a special education teacher at the high school, said she brought the puppy home during the holidays for her own children — as well as for those at school.
A 20-year teacher with the district, Schuman said she was approached by Superintendent Tony Giannicchi last year about the possibility of having a therapy dog which would provide emotional support to students in her classroom.
“At that time, I had a golden retriever that was 11 years old, but sadly she passed this summer,” Schuman said of her former family dog, “Lacey.” “For a couple of months, I played with the idea (of a family pet to serve as a therapy dog) and it just seemed right.”
She decided to purchase the puppy before the holidays with the intention of having him trained to serve as a therapy dog in her high school transitions classroom.
“My girlfriend gave me a call and said “Hey, we’ve got to go to Buffalo, I think we’ve found a puppy,’” Schuman said of finding a goldendoodle breeder of the dogs, which are a mix of golden retriever and poodles. It was noted that Moose is the offspring of a goldendoodle and poodle.
“And so we went up there and sure enough, his temperament was nice and quiet. He ended up being a Christmas present for my kids and being trained for a therapy dog.”
Training for the puppy, which was named for a big stuffed moose doll that was his cuddle toy and came home with him, is provided by Denise Barber of K-9 Connections in Olean. Barber provides training for the dog once a week and has visited the school to assess the classroom environment. Barber also trained Schuman’s dog, Lacey, in the past.
Schuman noted that when the school board approved the therapy dog for her classroom, it was with the provision that the puppy, which is still in training, would be available to other classrooms in the district, as needed. Schuman said the house-trained dog will go to school with her every day and return home with her at night.
“Obviously, he is still a puppy, so it will be just socialization (with the students) until he passes all of his certifications,” Schuman added.
Jackie Winship, middle school special education teacher, said that during the few days the dog visited the classrooms at the school, she noticed a difference with the students.
“What a benefit it was — and the kids who stopped in to see him had smiles on their faces,” Winship remarked. “It increased social interaction with the kids in here … and people stopped at lunchtime to see him.”
In adding his perspective, Giannicchi said he had never had a therapy dog at schools he has worked in, but thought the idea was interesting.
“We are seeing more and more students with anxiety and emotional stress, so a therapy dog sounds like a good resource to utilize,” he said. “I spoke with Ben Halsey (superintendent at Pioneer Central School District) where they have eight therapy dogs and he said it is amazing to see the effect they have on students.”
Schuman’s daughter, Ashlyn, who is a senior at Allegany-Limestone, said she was excited about having the therapy dog at school.
“I think the kids are going to like him,” Ashlyn said of the dog. “When we first (visited with Moose) the whole dynamic of the classroom was completely different. The kids were so excited and you saw a different personality come out of them with the dog that you don’t see when he isn’t around.”
Her friend, Katie Schlepko, a sophomore, agreed.
“I think he’s really good for everyone,” she said. “He adds this new environment for the whole entire school.”
