In this thesis I share stories of my journey to make meaning in my life, and explore how my relationship with dogs has helped me to overcome personal challenges. I break these experiences down into what I call my five Fs: family, faith, food, fear, and fido. After giving a history of the human-dog relationship, I extrapolate from my experiences ways in which I believe students and teachers could benefit from interactions with therapy dogs and other comfort animals within the public school day. Specifically, I examine the role dogs can play in helping students and teachers reduce stress and increase self-efficacy. I include the sample animal procedure I drafted for the school at which I teach. I also include some data from my time working with students and my dog. Written in Scholarly Personal Narrative format, I look to weave together my own realizations about anxiety, choice, and identity, with a call for others to find what self-efficacy strategies work for them to make meaning and purpose in their own lives.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvm.edu/oai:scholarworks.uvm.edu:graddis-2149 |
| Date | 01 January 2019 |
| Creators | Wills, Emily A |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks @ UVM |
| Source Sets | University of Vermont |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Graduate College Dissertations and Theses |
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