Therapy Dog Visits 6th Graders
by Krissy Johnson
This past Monday, the 6th graders at Mead had a special visitor. Buster, a retired drug dog, and his owner, Cheryl Johnson, came by and answered questions about working with the police and the training it takes to become a therapy dog.
Johnson became an officer in February of ’97 and, after applying twice, was chosen to be Buster's owner. He was trained as a ‘passive drug dog’ which meant that once he found what he was looking for, he would sit and point at it. They chose this method because he was working around people so being an ‘aggressive dog’, like the ones you see on TV, could be harmful. After 4 years of working with the police, Buster retired. Johnson then decided to have him be trained to be a therapy dog. Some of this training included not being spooked by wheel chairs and taking treats with out biting fingers. He also become Red Cross Certified and is a disaster response dog.
They both also belong to a volunteer organization called “Paws Up”. It’s a group of therapy dogs and their owners who go and visit shut-ins and elderly people and minimum of 3 hours a month. Also, many of the dogs go to schools and have kids who are struggling with reading read to them. For more information about “Paws Up” visit their web site.
Devynn Patocka, Maddy Nygren, and Victoria Johnson
enjoyed petting Buster.
