A Hoover and shaker: Mount Prospect therapy dog visits students, takes part in podcast

Mount Prospect therapy dog Hoover has had a busy week, topped off Thursday when he traveled to Indian Grove Elementary School to meet with students.

But first, Hoover and owner Julie Kane, director of the village's Human Services Department, stopped by Principal Bill Timmins' office, where fifth-graders Amelia Smakowski and Paulina Ocytko were recording a podcast about therapy dogs.

It was the second podcast put together by the pair as part of teacher Christine Photopulos' project getting students to address topics involving ways to improve schools. Their first focused on shorter school days.

"It's an inquiry-based project," Photopulos said. "But the overarching topic is how do we make schools better places for children to learn."

While Hoover rested his paws in the principal's office, the students asked Kane probing questions about the benefits of therapy dogs.

"Therapy dogs can be found in a lot of different settings, and I think it just keeps growing," Kane said.

"Therapy dogs calm people down. They lower stress levels. They can impact social/emotional learning. They can help kids that might have anxiety or be shy to kind of gain confidence with their interactions with a dog."

Hoover, a 2½-year-old Labrador retriever who became a certified therapy dog in August, visited the Mount Prospect Public Library on Wednesday for a Mental Health Matters resource fair co-sponsored by the library and the Human Services Department.