N. WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Students at Lehigh County Learning and Achievement Center in Orefield can suffer from emotional disturbances, troubled homes, legal troubles and gang involvement. Sometimes just getting through the day can be a monumental task.
But now they have a new friend to help them cope.
Her name is LLASie, pronounced "Lassie," like the TV dog. She is a 4-month-old, 35-pound, Chocolate Lab who is the school’s new facility dog.
- LLASie, pronounced "Lassie," helps students with emotional disturbances at Lehigh County Learning and Achievement Center
- Staff say they already can see a change in student behavior
- The Carbon Lehigh Special Needs Children’s Foundation paid for the initiative
She is not a service dog but will help students who are in grades 1-10, as they deal with their emotions.
Monika Short, the school’s psychologist and LLASie’s new mom, said the puppy has been on the job for about a week.
“Oh, they love her,” Short said of the students. “They love her. Children, especially certain age groups, they aren’t that respectful to adults and especially in the morning they don’t feel like talking to anybody. Now, it’s 'LLASie, LLASie, Good morning LLASie!' ”
'Excellent temperament'
Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21, a coordinating agency serving 14 school districts in Carbon and Lehigh counties and eight charter schools, and the Carbon Lehigh Special Needs Children’s Foundation helped arrange to get the furry pal added as a working dog for the school.
The foundation paid the expenses.
President George Husack said the foundation does fundraisers to help the students. Husack said it gets requests and suggestions and decides what initiatives to fund.
“The foundation itself raises money through an annual golf tournament that is held at Old Homestead,” he said. “As well as we do a basket raffle at the holidays, and there’s other events throughout the year that we do.”
"They don’t realize that me teaching them how to be in charge of her and teaching them how to train her is also teaching them how to keep themselves in control and calm, which is what a lot of our students struggle with.”School Psychologist Monika Short
LLASie was specially bred at Chilbrook Labradors in West Virginia for excellent temperament.
Learning from a dog
Short said she will use LLASie in her counseling sessions with students who want to interact with her, and they can pet her and learn how to give her commands.
“She will just be a dog around them,” Short said. “Through that, they are able to be in control of themselves.
"They don’t realize that me teaching them how to be in charge of her and teaching them how to train her is also teaching them how to keep themselves in control and calm, which is what a lot of our students struggle with.”
Short said students already have started showing behavior improvements in just the first week LLASie has been on site. She said staff members also are enthusiastic about the new furry friend.
“These doctors who have these very serious roles in life, you watch them get down on the floor and play with the dog and talk like they’re talking to a little kid,” she said. “It’s great to see it in everybody.”
Short said that if the program is successful at Lehigh County Learning and Achievement Center, it could be expanded to Allentown and Carbon Learning Achievement Schools.
That could mean more puppies could be on their way soon.
