by LAUREN CAVAGNOLO  |  Photos courtesy of Amy Berkinshaw

Every Tuesday and Thursday at Jenks Southeast Elementary, students are greeted not only by teachers and friends but also by the wagging tail of a gentle Yellow Labrador Retriever.

For the last five years, Amy Berkinshaw, one of the school counselors, has brought her certified therapy dog Ty with her to school each week, helping ease student anxiety and providing emotional support.

“Children have big emotions, and they might not know how to express them yet. A therapy dog can be a calming presence with soothing anxiety or separation,” Berkinshaw said. “He’s been very helpful just being out in the car line when kids are getting out of the cars. If someone’s struggling on coming into the school building, meeting them in the lobby, Ty will walk them to class and stay with them for a little while until they feel calm.”

Berkinshaw says having Ty on campus also creates a sense of connectedness and community culture. The school even made a video to explain the “Pet and Walk” technique so that students can pet Ty without holding up the class when passing through the hallway.

“Ty will lie in the hallway right outside my door as classes walk by; we call it the ‘pet and walk,’” Berkinshaw explained. “The kids, as they walk by, give him a pet, and they just keep on walking. And if someone slows down, one of their classmates will say, ‘Remember? Pet and walk.’”

Ty has a special bond with one student, in particular. She created her own version of soccer using a tennis ball and came up with ways for each of them to score. 

“That’s been really sweet, just seeing her interactions with him, and if she misses her chance with him, she writes stories about him,” Berkinshaw said. “If she walks in, his tail is going because he knows it’s going to be fun. And if she’s struggling, I can walk into the classroom with him, and he’ll go over and just lie down next to her.”

As well-trained as he is, Ty will sometimes do silly things at school. He earned the nickname “Trashcan Ty” after helping himself to the snack-time trash on more than one occasion.

“After they’ve had snacks, or if they’ve had a party or lunch in the classrooms, his head goes straight into the trash can, which is against all therapy dog things,” Berkinshaw laughed. 

But even Ty’s slip-ups can be learning moments for students.

“Not everybody’s perfect. He’s really well trained, but sometimes he forgets just like us, you know?”

Despite the occasional trash-can diving, Ty takes his job as a therapy dog seriously. 

Berkinshaw said her family will visit and say, “Is this really our dog?” 

“He’s so calm and relaxed and very gentle and the most well-behaved when he has his harness on,” Berkinshaw explained. “So there’s the working Ty versus the pet Ty because he needs to just come home and be normal and have the zoomies around the front yard.” 

Sidebar

Meet Ty

• Classroom: Counselor’s Office
• Species: Yellow Labrador Retriever
• Age: 8 years old
• Favorite Treats: Milk bones and maple bacon pumpkin treats
• Likes: Playing fetch with a tennis ball, swimming in his backyard pool
• Fun Fact: Ty always dresses up for book character day. He has been Clifford the Big Red Dog, Scooby Doo and Slinky from “Toy Story.” Ty also gets his own yearbook picture each year and is included on the staff page.