Clear Creek Elementary fundraising for therapy dog

Clear Creek Elementary School will have an addition to its staff this fall as it raises donations to help with some of the costs of getting a therapy dog for students.

“Besides being a positive figure in the building, we also know that having a therapy dog there will help prevent and take more of a proactive approach to some of our social, emotional and mental health needs students have,” Clear Creek Elementary Principal Kayla Amalon said.

The Clear Creek Amana Community School District is asking for donations to help with training and other costs with an initial goal of reaching $4,000 by the time the dog is picked up out of state in August, according to Amelon. Donations can be made to a third-party website the district uses to collect fees and donations.

The school is receiving a therapy dog on a “quicker than usual timeline, Amelon said.

“The company that we are going through had a situation (with) another person (and) it was not going to be a best fit situation for the dog, and so they had a dog that needed to be placed somewhere,” Amelon said.

The staff will not know basic information about the dog — like its breed or name — until August. But its soon-to-be handler, Lindsey Shaull, said the dog will have an “immediate positive impact.”

Shaull, an elementary reading and math interventionist at Clear Creek Elementary, works with small groups of students in her classroom, where the dog mostly will be stationed.

“We have kids that are anxious about (the first day of school), you know, especially like in kindergarten, and so sometimes they might be more willing to, like, walk in the building with him and an adult versus, like, just an adult being there,” Shaull said.

The dog will be used within the building’s positive behavior intervention support system for any students who need mental health support or a break from classes.

“Although (for) some of our students, we're meeting their needs with what we currently have in regards to like tools and resources. There may be other students that need a different approach, and this could be an approach that really supports what they need and really connects with them,” Amelon said.

Shaull will go to Concordia, Kan., to pick up the dog in August and stay there for a weeklong training. Once here, the therapy dog will stay with Shaull and her family outside of school hours.

The new dog will be an addition to the number of school therapy dogs already in the Corridor, including five in the Cedar Rapids Community School District.

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