Meet Hank the Therapy Dog

posted September 3, 2021

Having a "ruff" day? Hank the therapy dog is here to help. Today is Hank's first day as Cardinal Elementary School's official therapy dog.

The seven-year-old black labrador will join his human, and our team member, Nicole Ward (special education teacher) to help comfort our elementary school students in times of hardship. 

"My goal is for Hank to be a calming presence for students," Mrs. Ward says. "He has such a calm demeanor and just loves being around people. Sometimes all kids need is to give a dog a hug and things don't seem so bad."

The same can be said for adults. Our teachers are just as excited to see Hank walking down our halls.

"I know there are several teachers who have told me they're going to need some Hank time throughout the day," Mrs. Ward says. "All of the teachers and staff absolutely love him. He has come to school with me on Professional Development days and everyone just lights up when they see him."

While Hank will primarily be at our elementary school, Mrs. Ward is looking into options to have him visit our middle school and high school students too. 

"I want Hank to be accessible to all students," she says. "No matter what class a student is in if they're having a bad day and want to see him, they can."

Whether students are struggling with school, friends, life at home, or any number of personal issues, Mrs. Ward knows Hank can help ease their burden.

"Dogs don't judge, they love unconditionally and don't care if you're great at reading or not," she says. "I want students to feel loved and accepted and that's exactly what Hank can do for them."

Like all of our staff members, Hank has impressive credentials that make him well equipped for his new role.

"Hank has passed both the Canine Good Citizen and Canine Good Citizen Advanced classes and has the title of Canine Good Citizen as well as Community Canine," Mrs. Ward says.

The two have been working on completing therapy dog training since January 2020, but COVID-19 put a "paws" on their plans. They've completed all of their classes with flying colors but have one final test for Therapy Dogs International in October. 

Mrs. Ward has been inspired by therapy dogs since her very first teaching job when she was subbing in and around the Cedar Rapids area. During one job, she had the opportunity to be in a classroom similar to hers now, and that teacher had a therapy dog named Luna. 

"I saw how the kids would light up when they came in the room and saw her," Mrs. Ward explains. "I want that same feeling for my students. Also, taking care of a dog is a big job and when he's at school, I want my students to be able to learn more about being responsible by helping me take care of him during the day."

When Hank isn't working, he's your typical labrador who loves car rides, fetch, naps, pets, and ice cream.

"Hank has a bit of a sweet tooth and loves going to Graham's in Ottumwa for ice cream," Mrs. Ward says. "One day I took him there with my sister-in-law and our other lab. When my sister-in-law was holding the ice cream cone for him, he decided to take the whole thing from her and ate the cone in two bites — paper wrapper and all."

If you see Hank on campus today or in the near future, be sure to say hi and wish him a great first school year at Cardinal!