Brighton Area Schools therapy dogs receive training collars from local business
Kayla DaughertyBrighton Area Schools is believed to have been the first public school system in the nation to have district-owned therapy dogs in every school building.
On Thursday those dogs gained a new accessory, collars donated by a locally owned DogWatch dealership in Unadilla Township.
The collars, SideWalker Leash Trainers, were donated to the Brighton Area Schools Pack of Dogs program by Kathy and David Downey, owners of DogWatch by Laughing Labrador.
The collars retail for more than $100 each, making the Downeys' donation close to $1,500.
Kathy Downey said a customer loaned one of the collars to a family who hosts one of the service dogs. One of the coordinators of the program called Downey and asked if they could donate some collars.
"I said sure, the heck yes! We are thrilled to do it and it it wonderful," She said.
The BAS Pack of Dogs program was started several years ago by Karen Storey, a teacher with Brighton Area Schools.
"Brighton Schools is the first public school district in the state of Michigan to have district-owned therapy dogs and as far as we know, the only one in the nation," Karen Storey, program founder, said last year.
The SideWalker Leash Trainers use vibration or a stimulation to correct pulling on the leash.
Downey related the stimulation the collar gives as similar to electrical muscle stimulation used by some chiropractors and doctors.
"It's not electric," she said. "The dogs train themselves...the more they pull, the more correction they get."
The Downeys have operated the DogWatch dealership for the last six years and have a company vehicle, the "drool bus" that barks in two different languages – as a pack of beagles and as a German Shepherd.
"It is the best job we've ever had," she said.
More:Star pup-ils: Brighton plans to place therapy dog in every school
Contact Kayla Daugherty at 517-552-2848 or kdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KayDaugherty92.