Casey is the therapy dog at Heritage School. She is a 20 month old purebred Golden Retriever. She lives with the Anderson family in Ledgeview. Gina Anderson is a kindergarten teacher at Heritage and her husband, Todd, is a Business Education teacher at De Pere High School. Casey’s brother, from the same litter, is Rookie and he is the therapy dog at Altmeyer School.

Casey and Rookie just passed their AKC CGC Therapy Dog training in June after a year and a half of training with Canine Training & Outfitter. Casey goes to school every day with Gina. Shebrings positivity and joy to students as she walks through the hallways and visits them in class. When arriving at school, Gina hands off Casey to her handlers, Becca Beckman (Dean of

Students) and Jon Grueneberg (School Counselor), who also went through the AKC CGC training. Becca and Jon work with Casey during the day and Gina and her family are her caregivers outside of school time.

The therapy dog program at the Unified School District of De Pere has been made possible through the yearly Redbird Rally fall fundraiser. Funds raised from this community event allowed Casey to be purchased and trained for Heritage school. Casey was purchased from Rosewood Goldens in Clear Lake, Wisconsin and has grown up in Heritage School. Upon arriving to

Heritage, she immediately began training with Jeremy VanBeek from Canine Training & Outfitter. She has attended school at Heritage daily since she was 10 weeks old and feels very comfortable with the smells, sounds and activity of an elementary school. Heritage is Casey’s second home. “Casey brings smiles and excitement to the students and staff at Heritage every

day. She can be the ‘something happy’ or the ‘something calming’ for a student who needs a pick-me-up or may be struggling with emotions. I have never seen such a loved animal. Casey is the luckiest dog to have so many people who care about her! When my husband and I walk her through the neighborhood at night or on the weekends, we feel like we are with a celebrity as she often gets recognized and students are so excited to see her.” says Gina. Overall, Casey’s job is to interact with students by making positive connections. When students are in distress, they are often more likely to de-escalate and be more open with the presence of Casey. “We have found this to be true in many circumstances already with students in our

school who are distressed. Casey is a happy distraction that is good for opening communication with a student.” Gina reports. Casey works hard during the school day obeying commands and keeping a calm demeanor.

 However, when she is at home with the Andersons, she is a regular

dog. She likes to play fetch, take walks, play tug of war, or wrestle around with Gina’s two teenage sons. “Choosing to take on Casey as our family dog in conjunction with Heritage’s therapy dog has been the best experience,” says Gina. “We have been so supported by the district, Casey’s trainer, and her handlers at school. It has been such an amazing partnership and she has made so much progress in her training over the past year and a half. Casey is an important part of the Heritage School community. She walks the halls, attends Life Skills classes, goes to the assemblies, and even has her picture in the yearbook. I can’t imagine our school without her anymore.”