So here's the big news:
There's a new service dog joining Fairfield Community Schools, specifically at Benton Elementary!
Finley, a very sweet Bernedoodle puppy, will be coming to live with BES principal Carla Hochstetler and beginning to work full time at Benton in the coming weeks, but also travel around to the other FCS schools as needed.
Finley, who will be a year old on Dec. 4, was trained and donated by Patrick and Sarah Howard. Patrick is a Student Resource Officer for LaVille schools, and both he and his wife have been training Finley as a school therapy dog. The donation process came through Fairfield Police Chief Skyler Garner, who mentioned to Patrick during a police training session that Fairfield could use another officer and another therapy dog. The therapy dog decision came first, which the Howards had Finley ready to go, and brought her to Fairfield a couple weeks ago for a test run.
The experience went very well, and Finley has found a new home.
“We have seen the impact that Mac has made at Fairfield, and we decided to give Skyler a call,” Patrick Howard said Thursday evening following the FCS School Board Meeting. “We brought Finley here, and made a connection with Carla and Benton Elementary, and feel like it will be a perfect fit with her at the school.”
Finley is specially trained to deal in therapeutic affection, specifically with anxiety. “If someone is having an anxiety attack or in a panic, Finley is trained to go to that person and lay with them,” Patrick said. He also mentioned that the hair pattern of a doodle dog is a sensory benefit for some children with special needs.
Hochstetler will be the full-time handler of Finley and stay with her as Mac does with Garner and his family. Hochstetler, who was near tears of joy with Finley at the board meeting, has the freedom to bring Finley to other buildings if a service need arises.
But on behalf of everyone's buddy, Mac:
NO. Mac is not being replaced! He will still be on duty in his same role, pulling Skyler around looking for pepperoni pizza and Snausages.