Faces of Education
The Ace at Henderson School
Ace goes to work every Monday morning at Henderson Elementary School.
Like students and staff, Ace has a job to do. Unlike students and staff, Ace is not human.
Ace, a seven-year-old Level 4 Therapy Dog, is owned by Pat Good, Support Service Assistant and office manager at Henderson.
Its just before 11 am on a Monday morning in April. Im waiting outside Pats office and a young boy rushes by me. He opens the door and crawls underneath a desk. Moments later, a black dog trots around the corner and finds the boy beneath the desk.
I hear happy squeals from the boy and sounds of contentment from the dog.
"Guess I forgot to lock my office door," smiles Pat as she comes across the scene. The boy goes back to his classroom and Ace lies down at her feet. Once theyre settled, Pat begins to tell me about Ace and his work at Henderson.
Ace works with specific children on a regular basis but he is much loved by all students and staff.
The friendly black dog is good at motivating children, says Pat. She teaches one boy how to have Ace do special tricks. "He (the boy) has to calm down and concentrate to get Ace to work for him," she says.
When Ace goes to school, Pats office gets busier. "Typically when Ace is here people will stop and say hi to Ace and then they see me and say, 'Oh! Hi to you too!'"
Animals play an important role in the lives of children. Much research has been done in the area of children and pets and studies show that children with companion animals have higher self-esteem, greater empathy and more engagement with peers. Children with psychological and behavioural problems also seem to respond positively to animals.
This is Aces second year at Henderson, says Pat. Her other dog, Towhee, who recently died, worked in the schools as a reading therapy dog.
Ace wasnt always a well-behaved canine. He had to go to school, learn new skills and be temperament tested.
"When I took him home from the (Comox) SPCA in 2003 he had no social skills. Hed been owned by a family with three children under the age of seven," says Pat.
So just exactly what does Ace do at Henderson School?
To begin with, he wears a red backpack that weighs about three pounds. This backpack lets Ace and everyone who sees him know that he is working.
Sometimes Ace provides emotional support for children who are grieving over the death of a loved one. Sometimes Ace provides love for children who are having a hard day. And sometimes, Ace lets himself be patted and scratched by staff members who are having a hard day!
Ace plays hide and seek with one student on a regular basis. The student hides and Ace has to find him. When he does, Ace gets a treat!
Pat moved to Texada Island in 1991 from Kitsilano. She has a BSc in kinesiology and a minor in psychology. She worked in the Biomedical Communications department at UBC, providing teaching and research support for the UBC teaching hospitals.
Pat began working for the school district in the early 1990s filling in for a woman on maternity leave. In 2000 she moved to Powell River and worked at the board office in Dispatch. She remembers her early mornings at the board office and how Towhee would often accompany her to work. Then Pat moved to Kelly Creek Community School where she worked as a Support Service Assistant. Then she came to Henderson.
Pat does the Dog Smart program in the schools through Westcoast ACCESS (Animals for Community Care and Emotional Support Society). She sits on the board of directors for Westcoast ACCESS and has always loved animals. "I had a dog growing up."
Shes noticed the calming effect that Ace has on students and believes animals can play a role in the schools.
She points to an excerpt from a book called Play Therapy With Kids & Canines by Rise VanFleet that quotes Mary Renck Jalongo: "Companion animals should matter to educators, if for no other reason than that they matter so much to children."
It is documented that animals lower blood pressure, reduce heart rates and relieve stress. "Theyre good for kids who cant relate to other kids. With a dog beside them, other kids are better able to relate to them."
Pat says one student Ace works with is much more cooperative when hes with the dog. "The dog is a really big carrot because he matters so much to the kids. Hes a big motivator."
Not every student looks forward to Mondays, but at Henderson Elementary, Mondays are different. At Henderson, students look forward to Mondays with Ace.
