written by Stacey Kreger, Director of Administration
We are excited to introduce Hermione - a therapy dog - who will be at Great River this year. Hermione and her handler, Stacey Kreger, are a licensed therapy dog team through Pet Partners. Hermione, a golden retriever, is almost four years old and absolutely loves spreading joy and receiving pets.
What is a therapy dog? A therapy animal is a specially trained animal that partners with its human handler to volunteer at a variety of facilities and events, bringing joy, comfort, and companionship to those they meet. Many folks confuse this with service dogs, which is different. A service animal is a dog that has been individually trained to perform tasks for a person with a disability. Service animals are allowed anywhere their human is allowed. Therapy dogs are only allowed where they are invited and specifically welcomed.
Students can expect to see Hermione on campus approximately once a week. While at school, students are welcome to ask if they can pet Hermione when they see her in a common area. Guides will have the ability to plan ahead and request a visit from Hermione and Stacey to the classroom, and we will be organizing a sign up for students to come to the office for one-on-one time with Hermione (and Stacey - who must be with Hermione during all official activities).
If your child has an allergy to dogs or is scared of them, please encourage them to advocate for themselves. No student will be forced to interact with Hermione if they do not want to and we will be extra-mindful of students with allergies or fear of dogs.
Stacey is a member of the leadership team as the Director of Administration at GRS and has been working to appropriately train and socialize Hermione since bringing her home in January of 2021. She is excited to start volunteering in the community with Hermione and will be pursuing opportunities outside of GRS as well. If you know of a facility or event that is looking for therapy teams, please let her know by emailing her at skreger@greatriverschool.org.