Copper - B.F. Kitchen Elementary's School Dog

Copper is going to be listening in on some of his favorite stories, read by the author, Julia Cook!

Yesterday I announced that I would be going live on Facebook, Mondays and Fridays at 9 am central to read to you and your kids during this time of quarantine.

I’ll also offer a fun lesson for each book! If you'd like to follow along here is the schedule for the coming weeks!

Human-Animal Bond in Colorado Director Helen Holmquist-Johnson (center), along with Tamara Merritt (left) and Jennifer VonLintel (right), are presenting a research paper entitled "Building Program Evaluation Capacity in AAI Programs: A Community and University Partnership" at the 15th triennial International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations (IAHAIO) conference in New York this weekend. VonLintel is a school counselor at B.F. Kitchen Elementary in Loveland, where she implemented an animal-assisted intervention program with her dog Copper - B.F. Kitchen Elementary's School Dog. Tamara Merritt is the associate executive director at Hearts And Horses, a non-profit organization and an equine-assisted therapy program. With assistance from Holmquist-Johnson, these two practitioners worked to create logic models and theory of change models for their community-based programs.

Copper and I were excited to be part of this article that is being read by school principals and other educators across the country. Go Copper!

Why Schools Are Going to the Dogs Having canines in classrooms is "a real mood changer." Discover how therapy dogs are helping with everything from trauma to reading interventions to school climate.

Some of Copper's HOPE friends were on the Ellen Show today. Copper has been a member of HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response for several years now. This organization has therapy dogs that provide comfort in times of crisis. www.hopeaacr.org

https://www.ellentube.com/video/rob-lowe-and-ellen-discuss-recovery-efforts-in-montecito.html

HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response | Comfort in Times of Crisis

Copper is doing great and would love to go out and play in the snow. Snow in May???? This is crazy. For now, we just take short walks. I put a snowball in his food bowl after dinner. He LOVES snowballs. I have all his get well cards hanging by his water bowl so he can see them every day.

Copper Whopper just got home from his busy day at Loveland Vet Clinic. His surgery went smoothly. He is still a little groggy but seems happy to be home. I want to say thank you to everyone who has expressed their love and best wishes for a speedy recovery. Let the healing begin.

Copper Whopper is taking an early summer break. He has a torn ACL and will be having surgery on Monday. He is looking for some summer pen pals while he is healing. Any students who want to send him a get well card will get a note back from him.

Copper wants to wish all his therapy buddies a Happy National Therapy Animal Day. From cats to camels, nursing homes to psych hospitals, there are thousands of animals making the world a happier place.

The Books and Barks Contest is almost over. Copper wants to thank everyone who voted for him. Here is a link to the article about his work that Pets Best wrote for him. https://www.petsbest.com/blog/books-barks-contest-finalist-copper/

Books & Barks Contest Finalist: Copper Meet Copper, a 2017 "Books & Barks" contest finalist. The annual contest highlights the positive impact of therapy dogs in classrooms and libraries.

Copper wants to thank all the students in Outdoors Club who helped clear the rocks in the school garden on Friday. He had so much fun working with you.

Copper is a finalist in a contest that could win our school $1,000 and HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response another $500. Please follow this link and vote for him each day for the next week. We would LOVE to win! http://woobox.com/xi8dof

Books & Barks Contest Vote every day for your favorite therapy dog story! Voting begins Thursday, March 23rd and ends on Thursday, March 30th. The winner will be announced on Friday, March 31st. The therapy dog finalist with the most votes wins, so be sure to share with your friends and family!

Many thanks to Rover.com for writing about Copper's work at BFK.
https://www.rover.com/blog/therapy-dogs-back-to-school-hw/

Therapy Dogs Offer Students a Friendly Welcome Back to School