Each semester, seventh grade students read a whole class novel by April Henry. The main character in the novel uses a guide dog and students are able to learn more about the difference between various service dogs. In previous years, this was shown through videos online.
However, on Tuesday, February 17th, seventh grade Language Arts students were given the opportunity to meet an actual dog trainer and her service dog in training. Kristie Sahayda is a puppy raiser for Deafinitely Dogs located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Through Deafinitely Dogs, a non-profit organization, Kristie is able to train puppies to become service dogs for veterans with PTSD and people that are deaf or hard of hearing.
Kristie provided a unique perspective and valuable insight into what it takes to train a service dog and explain why she loves what she does. Students were able to ask questions and learn about possible volunteer and job opportunities through organizations like Deafinitely Dogs. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of the Deafinitely Dogs organization and its volunteers like Kristie, Benton students were able to take knowledge from a novel and see it in the real world.