Grant helps Vinny the dog stay in school

ALLIANCE — After wrestling with math concepts in class, first-grader Franky Knapik eases his mind by lightly rubbing Vinny. “He is a nice puppy,” said Franky, 7, who is one of the male boxer’s young friends at Northside Elementary School.

Vinny, a frequent visitor at the school, provides a calming effect for students, according to the Northside staff. His owner, Lesli Waller, is a special-education teacher, who brings Vinny to work.

“Vinny comes and brings calmness to the room,” Waller said. “If they (students) are working at the table, he will come beside them and drop his head on the table. Sometimes we have students who have emotional disturbances. He just kind of provides comfort to the students.”

Vinny, a therapy dog, has undergone training on how to conduct himself in a structured environment.

“If I hadn’t taken him through training, he would probably be all over the room,” Waller said.

Instead, during a recent visit to a first-grade class, Vinny simply finds a resting spot while math instruction takes place. He refrains from walking around the room, distracting the students.

FOUNDATION AWARD

This is Vinny’s fifth year at Northside Elementary at 701 N. Johnson Ave.

The canine recently developed some special needs of his own. His veterinarian bills have become costly, thanks to double ear canal surgery and severe allergies.

So the Columbus-based Animals for Life Foundation came through with a $615 grant to help Vinny stay in school.

“When you look at what she is doing, the dog helps the students relax,” said David White, executive director of the nonprofit organization.

“Of the applications we received this year, our grant committee felt strongly about it. What we are doing is promoting the human-to-animal bond. Our life is better with animals, and their lives are better with us taking care of them.”

BOOST TO STUDENTS

“He helps the learning process,” Principal Lori Grimaldi said. “Kids like to read to him. He will sit there on the floor like he is listening. In four years, I have never heard Vinny bark.”

By listening to students read, Vinny helps build morale, according to school staff, because the dog does not correct mistakes.

“It gives them more confidence,” Waller said. “As a 6-year-old (child) who is not a strong reader yet, he is blank slate to them. The point is not for them to be correct. The point is to build their confidence that they can become strong readers and writers.”

Students attending the K-5 school meet Vinny for the first time in first grade.

This year, the first-graders were “more excited than shocked,” teacher Barri Jo Vavrock said. “Lesli does a good job explaining to the kids before he (Vinny) gets here. I have been here four years and I have never seen anybody have an adverse reaction to him.”

While Waller has a classroom, she also floats into other teachers’ classes with Vinny to provide instructional assistance to children with special academic needs.

“The year I got him, I was given two students that had emotional disturbances that were quite severe,” Waller said. “I proposed the idea of bringing in a classroom therapy dog to help these students. He worked with those two girls. But everyone in the classroom benefited.”

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