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Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Disability
Still Image
Catalog Entry
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<p><span>I had the opportunity to meet with Joann Nichols, an Associate Professor of Education, at the McKay Complex building. While I was there, I interviewed Joann Nichols on her partner-in-crime, Beauty the Therapy Dog. Although Beauty wasn’t with her owner at the time, Joann Nichols provided interesting facts about her third golden retriever. Beauty, according to Nichols, is a very intuitive dog, and she’s the most communicative pet in her owner’s household. Like all therapy dogs, Beauty is very popular among younger audiences, and she projects an amazing aura. Whether she’s on duty or off duty, Beauty will always lift your spirits with her presence. </span></p>
<p><span>Beauty’s job as a therapy dog is to provide comfort and bliss to those who are coping with emotional and mental distress. Beauty first started her career when she was only a year old, which is surprising since most therapy dogs don’t begin their training until they turn two years of age. Since Beauty is a well-disciplined dog, she isn’t quick to latch onto whomever she comes across. Instead, Beauty approaches people, both young and old, in a subtle, careful way. Nichols shared a story with me about a girl who was very sensitive around dogs</span>. The girl was unfortunately mauled by a dog at a very young age, and that dreadful encounter prevented her from having an enjoyable experience with Beauty. Interestingly, Beauty understood the girl’s hesitant feelings. So naturally, Beauty turned over on her back and placed her paws up to the girl’s knees. Beauty’s actions encouraged the girl to feel around the dog’s fur, and the two ended up getting along. This scenario shows that Beauty is an expressive, affable, and gregarious dog who knows how to engage with kids on her own.</p>
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<p><span>Joann Nichols believes that there’s a spiritual quality to dogs when it comes to their presence around people. Beauty has, and continues to have, a beneficial impact on children, regardless if they speak English or not. This has proven to be true when Joann Nichols and Beauty encountered a young boy with an uncommon Asian dialect. Not only did the boy communicate with only sign language, but he also didn’t have any books to use for studying. Despite being in a poor position, the boy had taken a liking to Beauty; he sat down with the therapy dog and found himself reading his very first book to her. In a separate interview with Savannah Hippert, an editor for the <em>Research Live</em> newsletter, Nicholssaid: “He has really brightened up to [Beauty], and will come and sit with her, and brush her with one hand, and flip through a book, and mouth words with the other hand. So he’s kind of using her as a comfort mechanism to get into what has to be frightening in his situation. So we’re seeing great things like that."</span></p>
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<p><span>Even to this day, Beauty remains a mystery to Joann Nichols. She can’t figure out how her dog is able to transform the lives of so many children. Kids, who originally were having a difficult time reading, are now doing it with ease. In fact, children don’t want to read unless Beauty is by their side. To see if Beauty was the sole reason why kids were improving in their literacy skills, Joann Nichols conducted an experiment at Pawtucketville Memorial Elementary School with seventy-five second-grade students. She had a group of children read aloud to Beauty, and Dr. Nichols told me that the results on both the tests and pre-tests were positive. Students were more effective readers reading to Beauty than reading by themselves. Teachers at Pawtucketville Memorial Elementary School were so impressed with the results that they requested more therapy dogs to visit the classrooms. However, this has been difficult to achieve because some children have serious allergic reactions around dogs. </span></p>
<p><span>Beauty’s presence as a “listener” helps children improve in their self-confidence and public-speaking skills. Reading to dogs takes the pressure off of a child when they stumble. Francine Alexander, the chief academic officer at Scholastic Corporation, said: “Kids have to practice, practice, practice to be good readers. And yet, when you’re practicing, if you make a mistake, it can feel risky and uncomfortable. But if you’re practicing with a dog, you don’t mind making a mistake” (Claiborne an Brundige). <br /><br /></span><span>What I found interesting during my interview with Joann Nichols was that instead of using the word "</span><span></span><span>disability</span><span>,"</span><span> </span><span>she described the children in her stories as “culturally disadvantaged.” </span>According to Dr. Nichols, children who are culturally disadvantaged come from various demographics where there is no real emphasis on reading at home. For the children who were at a "disadvantage," or at a different reading level than others, Beauty served as an advantage for them. She helped children overcome their difficulties, and she never criticized them; she just sits back and listens. <br /><br />Joann Nichols had overwhelming praise for her golden retriever. During the interview, Joann said: “She is...I want to say the word 'ambassador,' let’s call it, just a model. She is...she is an animal...animal model of what humans should be.” I was truly honored to meet with Joann Nichols in person. Even though I didn’t have the opportunity to meet with Beauty, Dr. Nichols painted a clear picture of what her dog was like: exuberant, loyal, and vivacious. Children of all ages love Beauty, not just for her soft fur, but for her bubbly and energetic personality. Students, like myself, value Joann Nichols not just for her wisdom, but for her commitment to helping kids succeed. The two are a force to be reckoned with, and the Fitchburg community will forever be grateful for their contributions.</p>
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<div><em>Dr. Joann B. Nichols has been teaching teachers in the Education Department of Fitchburg State University for nine years. </em></div>
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Bibliography
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<p><span>Claiborne, Ron, and Wendy Brundige. </span><span>"</span><span>Study: Reading To Dogs Helps Children Learn To Read</span><span></span><span>." <em>ABC News</em>, 2010, https://abcnews.go.com/WN/study-dogs-children-learn-read/story?id=11428770.</span></p>
<p><span>Hippert, Savannah. "Better Reading Through the Beauty of Listening." </span><span></span><span><em>Research Live,</em> Feb 2020,</span><span> <http://www.fitchburgstate.edu/uploads/files/Research%20Live%20Feb%202020%20FINAL%2 0EFILE.pdf></span><span></span><span>. </span></p>
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Catalog Entry Author(s)
Tariq Thomas, Student, Fitchburg State University
Photographer(s)
Joann Nichols
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Profile: Dr. Joann Nichols, Faculty, and Beauty the Therapy Dog
animal
disability
fitchburg state university
profile
service dog
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Disability
Still Image
Catalog Entry
<p>Advancements and accommodations are made every day in modern life to make sure those with disabilities are included and treated equally. These advancements and accommodations, such as ramps, prosthetics, and even guide dogs, are seen in every day life, but how early in history were these advancements used?</p>
<p>This artifact focuses on one of the earliest-known representations of a guide dog. The artifact is in a manuscript from the thirteenth century entitled “The Decretals of Gregory IX” from Southern France. The picture itself within the manuscript depicts a blind beggar being led by a dog (Murchison). Guide dogs aren't commonly thought of as existing until as early as World War I, but this manuscript brings new light to the topic of guide dogs and how they were used during the medieval period to how they are used currently.<br /><br />This early representation of guide dogs in the medieval period is not the only one of its kind, however. In a fourteenth-century <em>Book of Hours</em>, there is a picture of a blind man being granted the gift of vision from a priest. Sitting behind the blind man is his dog attached to a leash which is connected to the man’s wrist. This dog was essentially leading the blind man until he received his vision (Murchison). Many of these manuscripts depicting the earliest versions of guide dogs have gone unnoticed. They can be found in manuscripts, but many are found in medieval prayer books. It is important now to look back at these manuscripts and realize some of the current accommodations for those with disabilities were also used throughout history. Guide dogs are one example of an accommodation that has gone unnoticed overtime.</p>
<p>Guide dogs may have been seen as early as the medieval times, but the official training of dogs leading those with visual impairments did not begin until the 1780’s. This training took place in Europe, specifically at the “Les Quinze-Vingts”. The “Les Quinze-Vigts” was a hospital for the blind in Paris, France. The movement to train dogs to lead the blind then shifted to Vienna in 1819 where Johann Wilhelm Klein, the founder of the Institute for the Education of the Blind, included the idea of guide dogs in his book on education for the blind. This study even included the methods used in order to train guide dogs. It was these studies written by Klein that helped during future times such as World War I (Holmes).</p>
<p>World War I introduced many new weapons and circumstances faced by soldiers. The introduction of poisonous gases resulted in many soldiers returning home blind, thus needing the help of guide dogs. It was because of World War I and the need for guide dogs that German doctor Gerhard Stalling began teaching dogs skills needed to guide the veterans blinded from battle. The first guide dog school was opened in Oldenburg, Germany to honor his works in August of 1916. As time went on, more and more branches of this guide dog school opened all across Germany. These branches were able to train up to six hundred guide dogs per year. After more branches were opened the trained dogs were not only used to guide blinded veterans, but they were being used to guide those with vision disabilities all around. The school however was shut down in 1926 due to a decrease in the quality of training guide dogs, but the history of guide dogs does not stop here (Holmes).</p>
<p>Right after Stalling’s school for guide dogs shut down, another school was opening in Potsdam: "this new school was able to train around 100 dogs at a time, with an average of 12 fully trained guide dogs graduating each month” (Holmes). During this time period guide dog training was mainly focused on in Europe. Any dogs needed on other continents were shipped to where they needed to go. As guide dog training became more popular a woman named Dorothy Harrison Eustis heard about the work in Potsdam. Eustis lived in Switzerland and trained dogs of her own for many different occupations such as the police and army. Once she had heard of the work being done by this school, however, she moved to Postdam for a few months to research and learn about these training methods. After several months of observing these methods Eustis wrote an article for the <em>Saturday Evening Post</em> in American in October of 1927. It was after this article was written that Eustis began introducing guide dogs in the United States. One man who she worked with was named Morris Frank. Eustis brought Morris Frank over to Switzerland to train with a guide dog which he eventually brought back to the states. It was Frank’s guide dog that became known as the first guide dog in the United States (Holmes). </p>
<p>As we look back in history we see that guide dogs have existed and helped those with visual disabilities since at least the medieval period. It is this artifact from the manuscript “The Decretals of Gregory IX” that can connect us back to the medieval period to see that accommodations for those with disabilities were and still are present nowadays. Guide dogs played an important role in the medieval world as they were among the earliest forms of visual accommodations and they are still relevant to the world around us today.</p>
Bibliography
<p>Holmes, Tori. "Guide Dogs Have Been Leading The Way Since The Days Of Ancient Rome." <em>Bark Post</em>, 2016, barkpost.com/discover/brief-history-of-guide-dogs/. <br /><br />Murchison, Krista A. "Guide Dogs in Medieval Art and Writing." <em>Dr. Krista A. Murchison, </em>kristamurchison.com/medieval-guide-dogs/. </p>
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Artifact Owner
<a href="https://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=6549">British Library</a>
Catalog Entry Author(s)
Kayla Mathews, Student, Fitchburg State University
Artifact Material
Manuscript
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Title
A name given to the resource
MS Royal 10 E IV, f.110 - Guide Dog
animal
blindness
disability
manuscript
service dog
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
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A name given to the resource
Disability
Still Image
Catalog Entry
<p><span>This entry is on Francesca, an alum of Fitchburg State, and her daily struggles with her own mind, and how she gets through her days with the help of her lovely sidekick Willow. Willow, a black lab and mastiff mix, serves as not only Francesca’s service animal, but also as her best friend. Francesca bought Willow from a breeder in Canada when Willow was a puppy. Willow passed her “K9 Good Citizens Test” at the mere age of 6 months. It might’ve helped Willow’s case that her father was an emotional support animal and her father’s father was a search and rescue dog for hikers who get trapped and/or lost on mountains. </span></p>
<p><span>However, Willow isn’t Francesca’s only furry friend. Francesca lives on a farm with her parents. The animals that accompany them on the farm are 3 outdoor cats, 1 indoor cat and 2 horses. Willow tends to run around with the horses a lot, and even though it scares Francesca half to death sometimes, Willow loves it. Willow is 3 and a half years old and 120 pounds, but she’s just a big baby. Francesca owned a dog, Toby, before Willow, Toby was half mastiff and half German Shepard. Things began going downhill a bit faster after he passed.</span></p>
<p><span>Francesca and her family aren’t originally from this country, so when her sister got arrested for possession of drugs, the authorities deported her.. Toby was Francesca’s sense of support and stability, but once he passed in 2016 she fell into a spiraling mindset. Francesca developed severe agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder that causes people to fear and/or avoid situations that may lead them to panic, when she lost Toby, but that’s not all of what she went through. Francesca suffered and still is suffering, but with help from Willow, triggers are more tolerable sometimes. </span></p>
<p><span>Francesca developed fibromyalgia, a disorder causing widespread pain, along with fatigue, memory, sleep, and mood issues, in 8th grade due to nerve damage from shingles, along with being diagnosed with anxiety and depression. It wasn’t until her junior year in high school when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She was put in a 3 day psychiatric hold for self harm, and at that age she didn’t find therapy progressive. It wasn’t until she was 20 when she began to find therapy helpful, and she’s been going for 8 years now, the last few with Willow. Willow is quite literally Francesca’s crutch. When Francesca developed fibromyalgia it made it hard for her to walk, so she uses Willow as her momentum to pull her along and make it to their destination. </span></p>
<p><span>It wasn’t until recently that Francesca was put on medication that allows her to feel stable, because depending on what you’re prescribed, the side effects can be pretty harmful. Francesca said the things that got her through the hardships were and still are her animals. Francesca got the idea of getting a therapy dog from one of her professors who had one. Willow is a therapy dog; they have more “rights” than an emotional support animal as therapy dogs are allowed anywhere while emotional support animals have restrictions. Unsurprisingly, Francesca had encounters where people would walk up to her and have the audacity to say, “you don’t look disabled." A handicap placard isn’t enough to get ignorant people to leave you alone. Francesca even had an encounter with a former employer, and she was asked why Willow was a necessity to have in the workplace. Francesca also finds comfort in her boyfriend, Jared, a guy she’s known for years and used to go to school with. Jared makes sure he takes time to talk Francesca through situations that she might not completely understand due to whatever is majorly affecting her at the time. He helps her relax when she is having anxiety, helps her see things for what they are when she is having a bipolar episode and is always there to comfort her through anything she’s going through. Willow is obviously a loyal friend, but sometimes you need someone to talk to who can respond with words of comfort. Willow might not be able to talk, but she can still show love in her actions of affection.</span></p>
Catalog Entry Author(s)
Gabriella Rico, Student, Fitchburg State University
Editor(s)
Anne Robinson, Student, Fitchburg State University
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Profile: Francesca Lewis, Alum, and Willow the Service Dog
alum
animal
disability
fitchburg state university
profile
service dog