Our school has three dogs who roam the halls and classrooms.
They all belong to a teacher who brings them in each day. We
have never had any problems with them. The kids love them and
oftentimes, you'll see a dog lying in the hallway and a kid
reading to it. The 5th graders have to go through training
and apply for a job as a walker/trainer. They have assigned
times to take the dogs out for a quick potty break and walk.
It's a very rewarding thing to be chosen as a Trainer. They
have to get references, sign a contract, can be fired, go
through training, etc.

We also have two bunnies that are in our ISS room. They have
been trained to use a litter box and when an upset student
comes in, they are allowed to pet or brush them. These are my
personal rabbits and they have never been harmed in the five
years I've been bringing them. If only I knew everything that's
been whispered in their ears from a student.

The dogs have been trained to ignore the rabbits and the
rabbits enjoy bothering the dogs if one walks into the room. We
also have a school cat who lives upstairs in a room. He's so
old that he doesn't prowl the school much but he's been known
to find a soft lap to sit on during the day. Allergies were a
problem with him for awhile but we've just started leaving him
in our resource room (no one is allergic in there). He seems
to enjoy it...lots of sun and soft places to sleep.

Our school has been very open to pets. I've got an incubator
set up in my room and currently have three 8-day old ducklings
running around in a playpen in it. We hatched the eggs after
28 days and two classrooms have adopted them and will go
through the interview process to find them new homes.

On 9/29/08, Kellie wrote:
> The principal at the elementary that I went to would bring
> her dog (a sheltie) to school. It would go with her when she
> visited classrooms, and then the dog stayed in the office
> with her. The students seemed to really enjoy seeing and
> petting the dog. You would just want to make sure that the
> students are not allergic, and you might also want to
> consider that some children may be afraid of dogs no matter
> how big or small the animal is. Another factor to consider
> is making sure the dog is comfortable with large numbers of
> people and being kept in one room for a certain length of
> time. I think it can be a good idea as long as you consider
> all the pros and cons that come along with it. Hope this
> helped!
>
> On 9/29/08, Rhonda wrote:
>> We (myself and the other special ed teacher) are wanting
>> to get a classroom pet. We've considered all the obvious
>> animals, guinea pigs, rabbits, hamster, reptiles, fish,
>> bird, and ferrets. Has anyone ever had a dog as a
>> classroom pet? What were your experiences? Do you have
>> any suggestions or ideas? Thanks for your help.
>

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