Like all the other students in Mrs. Meyer’s second grade class, Casey, at one point, had to learn some new things.
She had to learn how to sit, to lie down and to stay. She had to learn not to jump, not to bark, not to bite. And just like the other students in Sue Meyer’s classroom, Casey had to take a test to prove what she had learned.
The 3-year-old yellow Labrador retriever is as much a part of the class as any other student, and in some ways, she’s a teacher herself.
According to Meyer, Casey came into her life when her family started looking for a new pet. Shortly after Casey joined her family, Meyer began looking into reading dogs, therapeutic pets that are used in the classroom to help students feel more comfortable about reading.
`She had heard of a dog doing something like this in Guilderland,` said Roessleville Principal Suzanne Moore, who said she was open to the idea of having Casey in the classroom. `I had never thought about it before.`
But before Casey could join the students, the teacher and principal had to get approval from then-Superintendent of Schools Michael Marcelle.
`We were told no right off the bat,` said Moore.
Several factors had to be worked out before Casey could be in the school. For instance, if a child is allergic to dogs, they are placed in another class. If a child is afraid of dogs, Meyer works with the student to try and get him or her used to Casey. If the child does not overcome the fear, he or she is placed in another class.
After `pleading their case,` the superintendent eventually agreed to let Casey in the classroom if she did not act up or bite any students.
`I think once we pointed out the benefits to kids, he agreed,` said Moore.
Meyer said Casey celebrated her first birthday and first day of school on the same day two years ago.
`She did very well,` she said.
Casey is not kept on a leash in the classroom and is able to waltz around as she pleases. Most of the time, the students do not even pay attention to her as she grabs hold of her bone and trots over to the carpet, planting her paws perfectly on the edge while the students practice their writing.
When it is reading time, Casey follows her classmates across the room, where they pick up a book and sit on the floor with her, her paw on their laps as they read and show pictures to her.
According to Moore, Casey even helps calm students with behavioral issues.
The four students on `pup patrol` every week are responsible for giving Casey treats, changing her water and petting her on the head. In the cold-weather season, the pup patrol goes out with Meyer to walk Casey, but when the weather is warmer, the whole class goes to take Casey for a walk.
As of last week, the whole school is now able to get to know Casey, as she will become a pen pal with whoever wishes to write to her.
`Students can write to Casey if they are having trouble with a bully or about anything, and she writes back with her humorous advice,` said Meyer.
In one letter, a student wrote to Casey about a brother who was a bully. Casey wrote back, suggesting the student talk to the brother and ask him nicely to stop, and included that she thought the student was `grrrrrrrrrrreat.`
Another student asked Casey what it is like to be a dog. Casey explained as best she could.
A mailbox with Casey’s photo on it is set outside the main office to collect letters for Casey. According to Meyer, Casey will write back and have her responses delivered to the teachers of the students every morning.
But no matter what advice Casey gives to each individual child, her signature is pretty much the same in the end: sloppy kisses.
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