Students at George Washington School had a special visitor Thursday morning as part of their monthly PBIS (Positive Behavior and Support) assembly. Hudson the Railroad Puppy and his handler, Rich Nash, visited the students to help highlight the school’s “skill of the month”, which for January, is accepting differences. George Washington School Teaching Assistant Carrie Hall made the initial contact with Rich and set up the visit to the school.
Hudson was one of three puppies barely a month old when they were found abused and abandoned in Albany near the Hudson River. All three puppies were dehydrated and suffering from malnutrition and infections. They had similar injuries on their back paws, and Hudson’s back paw was gone.
After a great deal of medical care at the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, two of the puppies were making progress toward recovery. The smallest puppy, however, didn’t survive.
Hudson was fitted for a prosthetic paw and was soon excitedly running and jumping around outside, and now, at just two years old, Hudson is now a certified therapy dog.
George Washington School Principal, Chris Martel, said therapy dogs are a great support for the students, and this isn’t the first time they’ve had a therapy dog in the school.
“There’s a lot of different reasons it tends to work for our kids, and it really depends on the kid,” Martel said.
He said some connections were already made with Therapy Dogs International, as they have another therapy dog that comes to the school regularly to work with the students.
“Kids who are reluctant to put themselves out there socially, to take chances academically, oral reading or something because they’re afraid they could make a mistake…the dogs give them a non-threatening non-judgmental partner to work with and the kids respond really well to that,” said Martel.
Martel says because the students at George Washington come from a variety of different backgrounds, have different beliefs, and look or speak differently, it’s important to show them how important it is to respect those differences.
“Recognizing just because someone has a disability or difference, that they have a lot to contribute, and that we can learn from them and grow with them.”
Rich Nash is Hudson’s owner and handler, and it was Rich’s choice to have Hudson become a therapy dog. During the assembly Thursday morning, he told the students that just because Hudson is a dog, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have feelings.
“Hudson has feelings just like people do. He looks different but he still loves, and can be loved and is still special, just like people are different and look different but still have value,” Nash said.
He told the students that just like they can feel happy, excited, hurt, or sad, Hudson can have those same feelings, and that being different in any way doesn’t change that, in people or in animals.
Staff at the school collected donations for the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society as a way to say thank you. If you’d like to learn more about the MHHS or to see a list of items they are in need of, you can visit their website here.
To see more pictures from Hudson’s visit to GWS, visit the Questar III Facebook page.
