Del Mar School’s Therapy Dog Comforts Firefighters

Dottie, a Standard Poodle and beloved facility dog at Del Mar’s The Winston School, can’t take a day off.  When her owner Sandy Snodgrass and her family were evacuated from their San Elijo Hills home last week due to the Cocos fire, however, Dottie was unable to report to the school for her job where she logs 30 hours a week as a therapy dog. 

“What can I say, Dottie likes to work and she gets anxious when she can’t,” says Snodgrass. When she and her family were able to return to their San Marcos home, Snodgrass was so grateful to the firefighters she took them a care package of food.  Dottie tagged along and went right to work offering solace and comfort to the fatigued firemen who were temporarily camped at Double Peak Park.

“She’s intuitive and she just senses what people need,” adds Snodgrass.

Under normal circumstances, Dottie reports to work five days a week at The Winston School. Snodgrass, a parent volunteer whose son attends the college prep school for bright kids with learning differences, brings Dottie to the campus where her job is to relax and calm students enabling them to focus on their studies.

While the tall black Poodle might come across as a school mascot, Winston students know she’s all about work.

“Dottie isn’t a pet; she’s a service dog with social and academic goals and the kids respect that,” explains Snodgrass, who has a master’s degree in rehabilitation therapy and wrote her thesis on the role of dogs in therapy. 

Certified by Assistance Dogs International, Dottie is in her first year of service as a facility dog with the school where her presence is being tracked and measured for the influence she is having on student success.

“Our goal is to secure grant funding to expand the program and bring more therapy dogs into the learning environment here at The Winston School. Our evidence proves they really make a difference.”

—The Winston School