When the first-graders in Katie Stefanic’s class at Hanson Elementary School learned they were going to have a surprise visitor, they were curious about who would be stopping by.
Their smiles and spontaneous “ahhhs” and “ohhs” made their excitement clear when they learned it was Peighton — one of their favorite guests.
The 3-year-old golden retriever wanted nothing more from the youngsters than hugs and petting, which they were more than willing to share.
Although the children were allowed to ask questions of Peighton’s owner, Vida Pedrico Philbrick, they remained seated during the visit. Just as the dog demonstrated good manners — there was no jumping on the kids or excited barking — the teachers, using Peighton’s behavior as an example, encouraged their charges to stay calm and polite during the visits.
As a therapy team, Philbrick and her canine travel to Poway, Escondido and Ramona, visiting schools, nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Philbrick was a special education teacher for 38 years, with 25 of those spent at Hanson Elementary. She retired in fall 2023.
“My mission in life is to bring therapy dogs into schools,” said Philbrick.
On a recent Wednesday, Philbrick and Peighton, accompanied by school counselor Kristina Robertson, were at the school for about 2 1/2 hours, visiting four classrooms.
School counselors and teachers usually confer beforehand to determine which classes and students could benefit from a pet therapy visit. Visits range from one-on-one meetings with students going through particular hardships to entire classrooms.
In between classroom visits, Philbrick and Robertson took a short break in Robertson’s office and described some of the different ways therapy dogs interact with children in the classroom — and why the animals are there in the first place.
“Sometimes we meet with two to five students in a counselor’s office, sometimes we visit a class and sometimes a teacher will have several kids at a time sit and read stories for Peighton,” Philbrick said.
During the visit, she and Robertson named some of the issues facing students that can affect their school performance, including bullying, personal and family concerns and rigorous academic standards.
Lack of self regulation and anxiety are common among many elementary school students, and therapy dogs can provide comfort and calmness, Robertson said. The one-on-one interactions with the animals, who pay attention to the children and are eager to meet them, provide a way for the students to feel both seen and heard in a positive way.
Philbrick said her pet therapy is not only meaningful to the students, but it is also a way for her to honor her parents.
“I do this in honor of my beloved mother who ed three years ago,” Philbrick said. “Shortly after that, Peighton came into my life and gave me the comfort I needed.”
She said her mother, Loretta Leigh, “would be delighted” with her pet therapy work with Peighton.
Philbrick began training Peighton as soon as she brought her home at 8 weeks old. The lessons including ensuring the pup was well socialized with people.
Since her father was born in the Philippines, she trains using a combination of English and his native language, Illonggo, with some hand signals thrown in, so that Peighton can “understand all the family .”
“She’s actually bilingual, and can also understand the sign language I use with her,” Philbrick said.
Philbrick said she spends time every day with Peighton on dog obedience training, and they practice agility five days a week at her backyard agility course.
The agility work allows Peighton to show off a few tricks, usually to appreciative applause from the students, such as “weave,” where she weaves in between Philbrick’s legs, “spin,” where she spins in a tight circle and “catch,” where a treat tossed by her owner is caught — and quickly devoured.
Most visits are limited to 15 minutes, during which Philbrick and Peighton typically enter a classroom, where she gives a short introduction and has the dog go through a series of commands such as sit, stay and down.
The children are then encouraged to interact with the dog, whether by petting her or simply talking to her.
One of the fifth grade teachers had requested Peighton’s presence for a “compliment circle” at the recent visit.
Robertson explained they’ve been really successful with the technique, which involves the students individually meeting with the dog and handler, and ing on a compliment.
Although the comments were simple, “I like your tricks” and “you were good,” Robertson said the from the youngsters proved they were benefitting from the interactions.
“Although the pet therapy visits are only once a month, the teachers tell me afterwards the children are more calm, and the withdrawn children open up more,” she said.
She said that for some of the kids, the visits have sparked deeper conversations about what is happening in their lives.
Student anxiety over testing has also become a major student stressor, and Robertson has been receiving more requests for the therapy team to attend classrooms undergoing tests.
“Just having Peighton there helps and makes a huge difference to the students,” she said.
During a private visit with some of the students in the counselor’s office the morning of the therapy team visit, Robertson planned to have the students use the dog’s paw to make pictures with the message “Peighton Spreads Pawsitivity.”
The activity didn’t go quite as planned — some of the pawprints, made by dipping Peighton’s paw into non-toxic blue paint, were smeared or blurred. However, Robertson said the students were thrilled with the resulting art and “getting to clean up a dog in the office sink.”
“My favorite part is looking at the kids and watching them connect with the dog,” she said. “I know these kids, I love these kids and I am so close to so many of these kids, truly watching them and seeing how they smile when they interact with Peighton is one of my favorite things.”
Philbrick encourages more pet owners to consider having their dogs certified as therapy animals, and more pet therapy teams to come to this area.
“Right now, it’s just myself and one other person,” she said, referring to her classroom visits.
Although she usually attends school functions solo, she s with another pet handling team to visit Olive Peirce Middle School for the No Child Eats Alone program. The program takes place once a month, and the teams allow every child to have an interaction with a canine friend during their lunch time.
Philbrick also visits Cambridge and Chaparral elementary schools in Poway, often with the team of pet therapist Sharyn Farrow and Pixie, also a golden retriever, who she said is “Peighton’s best friend.”
Chaparral Elementary specifically requests therapy dogs for their student reading sessions, she said.
“Pet therapy work is so impactful,” Robertson said. “Every school counselor I know has asked me about therapy dogs and how they can get them to go to their school. There is a real need.”
Local pet therapy groups include Paws 4 Healing, Pawsitive Teams, Love on a Leash Pet Therapy and Rancho Coastal Humane Society. any of these organizations through their websites to learn more about pet therapy certification and training requirements.
