Dogs get special treatment in Ocoee High program

Princess was every bit that with the pink bow holding up a fluff of hair on the top of her head. Lex was looking smart in his personalized Ocoee Knights shirt. And Cesar didn’t let his lack of sight keep him from sniffing out a tempting dog treat.

This cast of characters is part of the new dog daycare program at Ocoee High School, started this school year and organized by animal sciences teacher Amy Anderson. Also participating in the program are Charlie, Coco, Roman, Piper, Beau, Lila, Simone, Loki — and Anderson’s 7-year-old Staffordshire mix, Hank. The dogs are owned by Ocoee High staff and faculty, who bring their pets to school with them on assigned days.

Principal Lisa Karcinski was interested in bringing the program to Ocoee after seeing it in action at Timber Creek High. She approached Anderson about starting a similar daycare, and Anderson loved the idea.

“We have a very strong agriculture program at Ocoee High School offering a variety of coursework in animal science, aquaculture, horticulture, etc.,” Karcinski said. “I knew that adding dogs to our program would help to strengthen the program and bring agriculture education to even more students on our campus.”

Students in the animal sciences and agriculture programs get experience with the school’s livestock, but there is only so much interaction that is allowed.

“We have a lot of large animals; you can’t just have a cow interact with a kid because of the safety issue,” Anderson said. “You can interact with a dog. Everyone gets to partake in it and have the responsibility with it, and you can’t get that with the livestock.”

To qualify for the pooch program, Knight faculty and staff fill out an application and show proof of vaccinations. Students create a schedule and let the owners know if they can bring their pets in on Wednesday or Friday, the two daycare days. Dropoff is at 7 a.m.

Anderson said many benchmark standards are taught: how to handle animals, proper sanitation and cleaning techniques, grooming, diseases, animal behavior and safety control.

Throughout the day, the classes have different tasks. First-period students check the dogs’ ears, coat condition and fecal material upon arrival to make sure the pet appears normal. Progress reports are filled out in each class daily and given to the owners.

“Every class notates what they do with the dog,” Anderson said. “We fill out on the progress report. We fill out if we go for a walk and who they played with outside. If there’s any kind of concerns like, ‘He needs a nail trim,’ or ‘His fecal matter is loose,’ things like that we want them to know.”

All dogs are picked up by 2:45 p.m.

Dog daycare is $5 a day — there are additional costs for extra services. Currently, the smaller dogs can have their nails trimmed or their ears cleaned; or they can get a bath, blow-dry and spritz of canine cologne. Boys get bandannas; girls get a bow.

Once the washtub is installed, the larger dogs can receive grooming services, too.

Students create and email the monthly invoices to the clients. The fees go toward the program and to replenish supplies.

“People are like, ‘You should charge more,’” Anderson said. “We don’t want to do that. It’s our staff, our family. People like to have their dogs here.”

Anderson said the goal each day is to make sure the dogs are tired.

“We don’t want them to be in here doing nothing all day,” she said. “We try to walk them every other period.”

Melanie Smith, an Ocoee senior, is president of the school, county and district FFA chapters and is looking at a career as a livestock embryologist — like an OB/GYN for livestock, she said — so being in the animal sciences program was important to her.

She has been working with cows, goats, hogs, chickens and sheep and has learned about animal health and animal husbandry — being involved in the dog daycare program has added another layer to her education.

“I have to work my way up the ladder and work with small animals,” Smith said. “I can say I participate in this on (college) applications.”

It’s also teaching her and the other students about communication and responsibility.

“I’ve always been a fan of dogs,” Smith said. “This class really shows you a lot about communication. Today, Hank and Charlie didn’t get along — we have to communicate, we have to work around that.”

The students have learned so much since school started.

“Having the dog daycare has been a huge success,” Karcinski said. “The students in the class love being around the dogs and take pride in caring for the dogs. Our staff members also love that they can bring their dog to work in the morning and they can stop by on their planning period and visit their dog.”

It has been good for the teens’ mental health, too.

 “I have some students who love to come on Wednesday and Friday because the dogs make them feel better,” Anderson said. “They relax them, they comfort them. I have one who is an epileptic, and she said, ‘It makes me feel so much better.’”

“Adding the dog daycare to our campus was just another way to add to the incredible culture we have at Ocoee,” Karcinski said. “There is a lot of research to support that being around dogs helps to alleviate stress and anxiety, which is a benefit to both our students and staff. Overall, having the dogs on campus creates a more joyful work environment.”