Phern, the TSA Therapy Dog
Phern, the TSA therapy dog
In December 2017, Administrative Assistant Cynthia Masterman introduced Phern, a hypo-allergenic, part white British retriever and part apricot standard poodle, to The Sharon Academy high school community. Born on October 13, 2017, Cynthia received funding from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation to care for and train Phern to become a certified therapy dog.
Research has shown that therapy dogs can reduce stress in schools, providing comfort and emotional support for students and staff. Animals help students to learn empathy and social skills, and to improve engagement. Research has demonstrated an increase in motivation and outcomes, attendance, confidence, social relationships and communications. Amber Boles ’22 shared that, “having Phern at the high school made me feel more comfortable about coming. I like it when she sneaks into class because it’s nice to give her a pet.” Service dogs are trained to provide specific support to individuals with particular disabilities. Therapy dogs are trained to react and respond to people and their environment.
Since the founding of TSA, there has often been a dog. Dean of Students Christa Wurm’s dog Omar was a frequent visitor until around 2007. “Omar was some sort of cattle dog from Indiana. I brought her because I could, which reflected for me the most excellent quality of the school. The dogs contributed to the family-like atmosphere, and for some students they were easy friends to sit with during down time.”
Dean of Faculty Mary Newman’s dog Chaco visited school at least twice a week from 2008 to 2013. Many felt he was a calming presence. Chaco was a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. Mary recalled, “He was pretty young when I started bringing him. He stuck really close to me and had a sometimes ridiculous habit of sitting squarely in my lap during all school meeting and right in front of the gender-free bathroom while I was in it. Sometimes, when he’d lost track of me, he’d sit there anyway, hoping I’d come out. It was an amazing thing for me, and I think kind of a sweet thing for my students and advisees.”
Director of the Writing Center, Stephanie Davis started bringing Gile, a rescue puppy from Tennessee, to school in June of 2011 when she was only about 16 weeks old. “It was evident how certain students really took to Gile and would make a point of taking her outside to play or spend time with her just giving her pets.”
While the value of having the animals at school was recognized, as it seemed clear that many students benefited from interacting with them throughout the day, there were issues with allergies and aversions to dogs and discussions among the staff and faculty to develop guidelines and objectives for bringing dogs to school.
During the 2014-15 school year, Molly Faccio ‘15 trained a service dog for her senior project, which was a unique opportunity for students to become engaged in the training process. During the 2016-17 school year, Cynthia’s daughter, Heidi Conner ’05, brought her dog, Rosie, a Goldendoodle, twice a week. Rosie was the first hypo-allergenic breed at TSA. These experiences led to a general agreement that having a well-trained, hypo-allergenic dog could be a net positive addition to the school community. Phern is the first dog intentionally supported by the school to be a part of the community, but she belongs to Cynthia, who is responsible for her behavior.
Dr. David M. Drazin is a parent of a TSA alum, Sam ‘ 09, and a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in the evaluations and treatment of children and adolescents. Dr. Drazin observed, “On my several visits to [The] Sharon Academy I have appreciated Phern’s loving and gentle greeting and have observed several students who have benefited from her calm and affectionate nature. As a clinical psychologist having experience with a therapy dog in schools, I am aware of how valuable this “special student” can be to a positive and caring school community. For some students, Phern will be a constant reminder of unconditional support which can be so important during these challenging years.”
Most therapy dogs “work” part time. They may be brought to a hospital or senior center for an hour or two a day, and then have time off to be a “regular” dog. Phern is “on duty” for the entire school day, which can be exhausting. She sleeps well after her days at school.
Phern had six weeks of training as a puppy but she has more training to do and must be at least two years old to qualify to be a certified therapy dog. For example, she must be able to leave food alone, not react to noises and ignore distraction. Cynthia plans to take Phern to more training classes in Grantham, NH. Guidelines and certification are provided by Burlington based Therapy Dogs of Vermont. Even if Phern isn’t certified as a therapy dog, she definitely provides comfort and joy to the school community. “We all love her. She brings great joy,” Cynthia enthused.
To follow Phern, visit https://deskgram.net/phern.phoenix