Olaf the Autism Therapy Dog

Olaf the Autism Therapy Dog

by | Sep 12, 2016 | Search and Rescue, Therapy & Service

SALK MIDDLE SCHOOL
Learning Changes Lives
Superpower Dogs, Team Journalist
9 December 2016
In the halls of Salk Middle School with Olaf, the autism therapy dog.
There is a calming presence that roams the halls of Salk Middle School, a STEM-themed magnet school in the Elk River Area School District of central Minnesota. Here, young minds are put at ease and eager to learn whenever they encounter this special superpower hero.
Teachers and students alike know him as Olaf, yet he won’t be found seated behind a desk or reading a book in the library. If you want to spot this friendly face around Salk, just keep an eye out for four paws and a wagging tail.
Olaf the Autism Therapy Dog
Photograph by Owner Mary
That’s right, Olaf is a six year-old golden retriever, and he’s a specially trained therapy dog that works with students with developmental disabilities, autism, and anxiety. Olaf’s heroic super powers highlight the grand impact our four-legged friends can have on our schools and communities.
As the filming of Superpower Dogs gets underway, our mission is to raise awareness for the working dog community and dogs like Olaf who make our world, and Salk Middle School, a better place through emotional therapy and support.
Olaf first arrived at Salk Middle School in 2014, after teacher Mary Ostmoe began researching the potential positive impacts a therapy dog could have in her classroom.
Before being placed with Mary, Olaf underwent over 6 months of rigorous training with Pawsitivity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in St. Paul, MN, dedicated to rescuing dogs and training them as service dogs for individuals with disabilities with a focus on children with autism. He was matched with Mary specifically for his superpower of gentle calmness, which has become an essential key to the supportive and safe environment fostered at the school.

From taking movement breaks and learning to care for an animal to learning the soothing comfort of having a loving, gentle fur friend. OLAF truly is a superpower dog.

Like any school, Salk’s students have a wide range of talents, abilities and backgrounds, each carrying their own unique set of needs. All of these youngsters learn in different styles, at different speeds, and under different circumstances, so Mary and her fellow staff know the challenge they face when cultivating a learning environment that works for everyone. However, these dedicated teachers also know that no matter what obstacles a student may face, each child can have the same opportunity to grow with the right support and conditions around them.

 

What makes Olaf perfectly suited for his role at the school is his superpower of gentle calmness that helps kids overcome a variety of different challenges. Whether students feel anxious, upset, distracted, or sad, Olaf’s presence can practically make those feelings disappear the very instant an outstretched hand meets his fluffy fur. With his intuitive senses and loving demeanor, Olaf provides many students at Salk the opportunity to learn new ways of coping with daily struggles. He also enables teachers like Mary to create a positive environment that works for all of her students no matter their needs, which ultimately helps shape these young lives for the better.
Mary shares, “Olaf offers so many opportunities to our students. From taking movement breaks and learning to care for an animal to learning the soothing comfort of having a loving, gentle fur friend. He truly is a superpower dog.”
Just as Olaf’s superpowers attract the attention of happy students each day he roams the school, word has begun to spread to other districts about his amazing impact. But despite how endeared Olaf has become to Salk Middle School, most other schools don’t have a therapy dog, and many students with learning challenges don’t experience the same calm and comfort that Olaf creates.
In order to help build awareness for our amazing furry friends like Olaf, the IMAX giant screen adventure film, Superpower Dogs is spreading our mission to raise awareness for the working dog community, support the next generation of canine heroes and help make sure that there is a working dog available for everyone in need.
Superpower Dogs is a giant screen adventure film in the making, scheduled to debut at the California Science Museum in 2018, about dogs that save lives, lift spirits and make our world a better place. Thank you Olaf for helping the students of Salk Middle School learn and grow with your super powers!
Salk Middle School
Photograph by Meet Olaf – Salk Middle School’s Therapy Dog for Students
WATCH
Superpower Dogs Official Trailer
READ
The Greatest Story Ever About Dogs
LEARN
More Inspiring Superpower Dog Stories
Coming to IMAX® and Giant Screen Theatres March 2019

Search & Rescue Dog, Booter, On The Front Line Of Disaster

Search & Rescue Dog, Booter, On The Front Line Of Disaster

by | Jun 29, 2016 | Search and Rescue, Superpower Dogs Stories

ARIZONA SEARCH DOGS
The Call To Help: Communities On The Frontlines Of Disaster
Superpower Dogs
29 June 2016

Booter, a 4-year old black lab with a large, jovial smile, and his handler John Dean of Arizona Search Dogs, were one subset of the superpower team of first responders that deployed to the massive landslide that took place outside of Oso, Washington in March 2014.

Flattened houses, uprooted trees, dispossessed families, sirens, flashing lights…

For most of us, picturing a community in the aftermath of a natural disaster brings to mind powerful if not heartbreaking scenes of destruction. While these types of images usually inform the media narrative of such events, taking a closer look can reveal a story of inspiration lying just beneath the surface of tragedy.

Despite the vulnerability humans face when thrust into intense, unexpected circumstances, these moments also elevate us to collectively be at our best. Disaster can serve as a catalyst for solidarity and selflessness, and remind us of the special bonds we create through a common purpose of helping others. To see this phenomenon in action, look no further than the most important members of any disaster response team: the search and rescue dogs.

Booter, Arizona Search Dog responds to Oso, WA Landslide

Photograph by Arizona Search Dogs

No matter the type of disaster, first responder teams rush to hit the frontlines in the most crucial moments to aid those in need. When every minute counts, finding imperiled humans faster than humanly possible is a challenge only our four-legged friends can rise to meet.

These incredible animals use their sense of smell to find and recover disaster victims in the most treacherous conditions, often buried beneath many feet of earth, crumbled structures, and debris. However it is an unshakable loyalty to their handler that enables these dogs to work 18 consecutive 11-hour days in the cold, wet mud searching for disaster victims, as was the case of Booter in the 2014 Oso, Washington landslide.
Booter, a 4-year old black lab with a large, jovial smile, and his handler John Dean of Arizona Search Dogs, were one subset of the superpower team of first responders that deployed to the massive landslide that took place outside of Oso, Washington in March 2014.

As part of the recovery effort, John and Booter formed a critical unit whose search efforts led them over the mass of mud, rock, and broken trees that covered over a square mile and buried the small town.

Over the course of 18 grueling days, Booter worked alongside police officers, firefighters, community members and other rescue personnel to help bring answers to the Oso community. Though this kind of success isn’t determined by hard work or raw ability alone, it starts with a foundation of trust and cohesion built through years of shared experience.

no disaster is insurmountable if we join hands (and paws) and face it together.

When John and Booter arrive at the scene of a disaster like the one in Oso, they don’t take long to find a familiar rhythm. One can tell by observing their unspoken communication that they’ve spent thousands of hours training together. But despite all of the elite skill these two exhibit, the most important factor in any situation is the bond they share. Through many challenges John and Booter have come to count on one another, and it is their mutual commitment that enables such effectiveness in dire situations.

Booter Searches the Scene of the Oso Landslide

Photograph by Arizona Search Dogs

Much like the experiences that have brought John and Booter together, the Oso landslide proved to have the same effect on the residents of the small mountain town.
For much of the recovery effort John and Booter worked alongside many family members and friends of the missing victims. While Booter’s calm focus and friendly demeanor certainly helped bolster a sense of hope amidst the group, perhaps there was no better inspiration for unconditional selflessness than that of the search dog on his mission to find people in trouble. This common purpose between John and Booter permeated the search team, and in the face of uncertainty, the courageous residents of Oso came together to help one another recover and heal.
Stories like the Oso landslide will undoubtedly recount the tragic loss of life and upending of a tiny community, but they can also teach us that no disaster is insurmountable if we join hands (and paws) and face it together.
WATCH
Superpower Dogs Official Trailer
READ
The Greatest Story Ever About Dogs
LEARN
More Inspiring Superpower Dog Stories
Coming to IMAX® and Giant Screen Theatres March 2019