Every day, there are students filling the hallways and classrooms, but there is also a four-legged furry friend that roams the halls most days. The brown and white dog is named Zoey, and she is one of Olathe West’s therapy dogs.
Sophomore counselor Darianne Hicks is Zoey’s owner. In October of 2022, Hicks visited the Great Plains Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Merriam, Kansas, looking for a dog to adopt and train as a therapy dog. The shelter helped her find a dog that fit the demeanor she was looking for, leading her to Zoey. After being observed for a few days, Zoey ended up going home with Hicks and got ready to start her training with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.
“She did really well through the training and did really well with people and other animals and kids, and so, at that point, I was like, she’s got the perfect demeanor to be in this school,” Hicks said. “So we moved forward with the therapy training and got her certified to be a therapy dog here at West, and she’s been here ever since.”
Zoey is very popular among students and staff, so a common struggle for them is making sure everyone gets to see Zoey regularly to get a quick breather from classes or the school day.
“We’re in a school of 1,600, with 1,600 students, and so I think having just her, it’s hard to make sure that, you know, everyone that wants to see her or wants to, you know, make an appointment with a dog is able to,” Hicks said. “So it’s really hard some days to even leave my office if I’m meeting with students to get her out to interact with students.”
Even with Zoey’s popularity and busy schedule in school, she still gets to enjoy her life as a dog outside of school.
“She loves the dog park. She loves chasing squirrels any opportunity she gets. She loves chew toys, so lamb chop is probably her favorite chew toy, so if it has a squeaker in it she’s going to destroy it and tear out the squeaker,” Hicks said.
Zoey has been at Olathe West since she got her certification, and she’s been supporting students and staff. She’s been available for people to make appointments to meet with her, and she can be found wandering the halls all throughout the school day. Hicks has noticed over time how Zoey is able to get students to show a different side that is hard for teachers to access.
“I think dogs bring something that even I as a counselor, and humans I feel like just can’t,” Hicks said. “Like her presence I think just brings a calming, like, atmosphere that other students and staff here that I feel like only a dog can do. I know that not everyone is a dog person, but having her around I think brings a level of just calmness and joy, and peace to a lot of [people], and I’ve seen it and witnessed it, which is far more than I could ever do.”
