Therapy dogs teach valuable lessons at WHEDco youth summer camp in the Bronx

Buster, a trained therapy dog, hangs out with new friends, including 10-year-old Angel (left), who said that he now has better skills in dealing with his hyper dog at home.

Buster, a trained therapy dog, hangs out with new friends, including 10-year-old Angel (left), who said that he now has better skills in dealing with his hyper dog at home.

Photo Emily Swanson

Kids at WHEDco’s Summer Arts Day Camp in the Bronx have made some new friends, but Lucy, Penny and Buster aren’t fellow kids — they’re trained therapy dogs who visit twice a week for lessons in dog handling and social-emotional growth.

The camp, which is part of the Department of Education Summer Rising program, partners with the nonprofit A Fair Shake for Youth, founded by Audrey Hendler, to provide a unique form of learning that extends into academic success, increased confidence and better emotional awareness. 

“Kids will take from the dogs whatever it is they need,” Hendler said, whether it is the confidence to speak up or the reminder to take a deep breath or change their tone of voice. 

Hendler’s own dog, Lucy — a 13-year-old border collie/spaniel mix — is one of the regular dogs who visits the camp. During the Bronx Times’ visit, students also worked with Buster, a small white labradoodle mix with a fresh haircut, and Penny, a large yellow lab.

Lucy, a senior dog, tries out one of the puzzles with treats hidden inside.Photo Emily Swanson

The session involved giving the dogs different puzzles with treats hidden inside. Students observed and took notes as the dogs used their noses and paws to uncover the treats. 

Sometimes the students had to give the dogs some help. Penny got stuck on one puzzle that required her to pull out small drawers, and when she became frustrated, the students helped her by partially opening one drawer. When she saw how it worked, she located the rest.  

Afterwards, the group discussed whether the dogs remained excited and positive through each challenge or had gotten frustrated by the task. The experience modeled some positive values for the students — emotional awareness, trying new things, asking for help, resilience and persistence through hard tasks. 

Some students at the camp said the sessions with the therapy dogs have helped them with their own pets. Angel, 10, said his family has a little dog named Chloe. Although she can be hyper, he said she provides a lot of comfort.

“Sometimes I get a little mad, and my dog can calm me down,” Angel said. “Playing with her makes me happy.” 

Angel said that when a dog obeys a command, he feels “excited and happy because I finally showed them how to do it.” 

Frainy, 11, also attended the camp last summer and has gotten comfortable with Buster, Lucy and Penny. She said the dogs are “very energized,” which makes her feel “happy and calm.” 

Frainy said she once saw an online video of a service dog helping a paralyzed person walk and was amazed by how dogs can help humans — and vice versa.

“Dogs can teach people to calm down,” she said. 

The hour-long session ended with some deep breathing exercises and quiet moments loving on the dogs. 

Frainy (center), age 11, enjoys time with Penny, a yellow lab, for the second summer in a row.Photo Emily Swanson

WHEDco staff said they see a big difference in the students after working with the therapy dogs, especially when it comes to confidence. For example, last year Frainy refused to be interviewed on camera or talk to reporters, but this year she volunteered, said Katie McCaskie, clinical supervisor with WHEDco. 

Unconditional love can go a long way for kids, according to McCaskie.

“Dogs are loving. They don’t care what you’re wearing or what you look like,” she said. 

In the post-pandemic recovery era, McCaskie said working with kids is “harder than ever before.” The summer camp — along with WHEDco’s after-school program that serves hundreds of kids at PS/IS 218 where the camp is held — focuses much energy on rebuilding the positive social skills that also help them achieve more academic success. 

Hendler founded A Fair Shake For Youth after a career in marketing and previous work with Puppies Behind Bars, which pairs puppies with incarcerated New Yorkers who raise and train the animals for service work and jobs within law enforcement.  

Once Hendler saw the success of that program, she thought, “Why wait until the kids are grown up and in trouble?” she told the Bronx Times. “We saw right away that the opportunity was much broader.” 

In ten sessions over five weeks with the WHEDco group, Hendler said the students — even the ones who are afraid or reluctant to engage at first — form special relationships with the dogs. 

And though the dogs are trained to be calm, they still have plenty of personality, said Hendler. Buster stretched his paws up on the table as treats were taken out of a backpack. Penny was determined and clever during the puzzle activity, using her paw to hold the contraption in place. And senior dog Lucy was most content to lie on her side, back leg up in the air, as the students slowly petted her — but also showed off her knowledge of the “sneeze” command. 

Hendler said rebuilding the volunteer base after the COVID-19 pandemic has been a struggle. She used to run programs in ten schools at a time, and now works with six or seven at a time. Still, “I’d like to just keep growing,” she said. 


Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes

 

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