Four-year-old Cami quietly walked up and down the aisles like a classroom monitor Wednesday in Vicki Heskett’s sixth-grade social studies class.
Occasionally, she paused for a pat on the head or other acknowledgement from students.
As Cameron White knelt in the aisle, Cami hopped up, gave him a hug and placed a fuzzy paw on top of the boy’s head.
Cami, a cream-colored English Lab, is the school’s newest classmate to be on-hand, or rather on-paw, to help students who need her.
Whether she helps students calm down or rewards them for a job well done, Cami has fast become a special member of the Smart family.
“The kids are very used to her,” Heskett said. “They actually miss her when she’s gone. Sometimes, when she’s not here, the students say that I should give her detention.”
Cami has been at Smart since August and lives with Principal Kamie Swanson.
The name of the dog is just a coincidence, Swanson said.
Having a therapy dog is something school staff has wanted for several years, Swanson said.
“We have so many of these kids, especially at this age, that are going through different things or going through something at home, and they just need time to come in for five minutes and have something that relaxes them,” Swanson said.
Earlier this year, Swanson said Cami, who had been trained to work with abused children, was available for adoption at the Quad-Cities Canine Assistance Network.
The agency provides intensive, specialized training for therapy and service dogs.
Money raised from a trivia night in May helped fund the more than $3,000 cost for Cami, Swanson said.
Every day, Cami works with Smart's behavioral awareness classes. Teachers throughout the school also can sign up to have Cami, Swanson said.
Students can earn Eagle Bucks that can be cashed in for special privileges. A lot of kids are cashing in their bucks to have lunch or walk Cami, Swanson said.
Dylan Badtra, 12, said Cami helps motivate him to do well in school.
“If we do good, we might get to have her for a class or something like that,” he said.
