The first week in March 2020 was designated as “Reading Across Holland Elementary School Week.” Howard Barkan, better known to the kids as Mr. Howard, volunteers with his therapy dog Winnie in a...

At Halloween, Mr. Nelson brought Bubba’s costume to class in a bag.  The students had clues to guess what the costume was. They were eventually able to guess that Bubba was going to dress up as...

“I have a student in my special education classroom that can be considered “non-verbal”. Only when prompted does she use expressive language, but spontaneous expressive language continues to be an...

Mike Nelson and his teachers work together closely. They communicate weekly regarding the expectations the teacher has for the upcoming therapy dog visit.  Mike then offers suggestions about...

Mike Nelson and his Golden Retriever Bubba have been volunteering with Nor’wester Therapy Dogs since 2012. They are one of our teams that work primarily with special needs students. Not only do Mike...

HOW TO TOUCH A DOG As therapy dog handlers, we are responsible for making sure that children behave appropriately around dogs, and this is a perfect opportunity to teach them how to respect...

The Nor’wester organization strongly encourages teachers to think of their therapy dog team as a “teaching tool” to be used to help meet academic and instructional goals.  Tanya Mahon, a teacher...

“IDEAS FOR INCORPORATING ANIMAL-ASSISTED INTERVENTIONS”  (taken from 101 Creative Ideas for Animal Assisted Therapy by Stacy Grover) LET’S TALK:  A therapy dog team working under the...

Maria Alden, retired third grade teacher from Maureen M. Welch Elementary in Council Rock School District, hosted a black Lab therapy dog for five years. She created a therapy dog related activity...

Nor’wester’s public library liaison & coordinator, Lynn Lenz, worked with librarians Sarah Ravapinto and Christy Lazzarino to offer a six week vacation program of READ TO THE DOGS at the Richboro...