ST. LOUIS — Students at the Missouri School for the Blind have a unique classmate named Luke. He is a 3-month-old yellow Labrador.
Luke is training to be a therapy dog. Tammy Popp, a math teacher at the Missouri School for the Blind, owns him. He goes to school with her every day.
“What I’m doing is getting him used to all the sights, the sounds, the smells,” she said.
Right now, Luke is in regular puppy class. Then at 4 months old, he’ll begin adult class. At 18 months he'll begin specific therapy classes.
Popp wants Luke to help the students relax. Therapy dogs can have a tremendous emotional impact on people. Popp said many of the students, she teaches, suffer from anxiety and could benefit from a therapy dog.
Science shows, when humans pet an animal, it releases a hormone called oxytocin that help people relax.
Popp has been a math teacher for 30 years. Three years ago, she left the public school system and began teaching at the Missouri School for the Blind.
“This has kind of rejuvenated me again,” she said.
She even learned braille.
All of the students are considered legally blind. Some have low vision, and some cannot see at all.
Popp uses raised graph boards and grids to help the students learn. The calculators even talk so students can hear them. She said Luke is just one more learning tool.
“I look at everything as a teaching opportunity. Whether it’s a teaching opportunity for Luke or a teaching opportunity for the kids,” Popp said.
She said Luke teaches them valuable life skills.