VISTA (VATC) & CANINE COMPANIONS
VATC’s CANINE COMPANION GETS STAR TURN IN NATIONAL PUBLICATION
On October 16th, Vista Adult Transition Center (VATC) was the host location for a special photoshoot featuring the facility’s therapy dog, Jenny, and her handler, VATC Speech Pathologist Jeremy Nolan. The photoshoot will support a feature article in The Companion, the official magazine of Canine Companions, a national organization that has placed nearly 8,000 therapy dogs throughout its history.
VATC serves young adults with mild to severe disabilities by preparing them with life skills to help maximize their independence and contributions to their community.
Canine Companions is a nationwide organization that provides facility dogs to help people in the educational system living with disabilities live with increased independence. Their dogs and services are provided to clients free of charge; it was at the organization’s Oceanside location that Nolan first met Jenny, a black labrador/golden retriever mix, in August of 2023.
Nolan had been the speech pathologist at VATC for three years and felt that a facility dog would benefit the school’s students. “Many of my students struggle with emotional regulation and I thought that a dog's objective, caring nature would be a great tool for them to have access to,” he explains.
He applied to Canine Companions, and once accepted began the two-week team training. “Applicants get to work with several different dogs to see how each responds to one another,” says Nolan. “Jenny was the first dog I was ‘pre-matched’ with, and from the get-go, it was a pretty clear match.”
Upon hearing about the important work that Jenny and Nolan have been doing at VATC, Canine Companions contacted Nolan to learn more.
A Perfect Match
During the visit, also attended by VATC Principal Katherine Abraham, Nolan walked Jenny around the whole campus during lunch break. Students greeted her warmly and Jenny showed how she follows Nolan’s directions in how to interact with others
This was particularly important with students from the ‘medically fragile class’ who are mostly in wheelchairs. Jenny nudged them with her nose to get attention, placed her paws on their laps, and gazed into their eyes. When Nolan said ‘Speak!’ Jenny barked, to the students’ delight.
He explained how he encourages students to stroke Jenny rather than stare at her. Nolan encourages students to touch Jenny but is careful to keep Jenny away from students who are allergic to dogs. Nolan says students help wash, brush, and feed Jenny, and they love to give her carrots for treats.
With Jenny, he says, “I don’t have a lesson plan. It’s a natural process and she helps teach students empathy. Most of their language skills have plateaued by this age so it’s the social part that is so important. Jenny has been a great asset in sparking conversation during unstructured time on campus, which has been so good for my students working on social language skills.”
Nudging Students Toward Success
He also demonstrated how Jenny helps non-verbal students identify a variety emotions using special equipment in his office. Jenny nudges the equipment with her nose, making it sound out particular words.
“Jenny makes therapy easy because she is such a calming influence,” says Nolan. “When a student is escalated, I say ‘Do you want to walk Jenny’? And they immediately say, ‘Yes please’. When the school had flooding issues recently, Jenny helped convince students to get on the bus when they showed some hesitation.”
She also regularly entertains students with dress-up. She has her own doggy baseball cap, Doggles (dog goggles), and butterfly wings, and will be a dinosaur for Halloween, shares Nolan.
Jenny lives with Nolan and while he grew up with family dogs, she is the first dog of his own. Away from school they often go camping.
When asked what makes Jenny so special, Nolan is quick to answer: “Jenny truly loves everyone. That's the best thing about having a dog at VATC; she doesn't care how you act or what you look like, she just wants to love you and for you to love her. I'm not sure how they managed to breed that trait into her, but they did an incredible job.”
Sarah Zetlmeisl of Canine Companions explains: “Facility dogs are trained in specific tasks to work alongside professionals Their trained skills can be utilized to enhance therapies, promote participation, and reduce anxiety for clients in professional environments.
“A Canine Companions facility dog is bred to be calm, reliable, and affectionate in order to assist in the development of independent living skills. Additionally, the handler can integrate a facility dog into a variety of structured therapies and utilize it to facilitate social interactions.”
The connection between VATC and Canine Companions continues. The organization has now partnered with the Workability Program, which will provide opportunities for VATC students to learn vocational jobs at their facility - with them no doubt making plenty of new canine friends along the way.