Whitaker

 

Betsie Valley Elementary students are feeling the love thanks to their school’s therapy dog, Whitaker.

Whitaker has been coming to Betsie Valley Elementary since the spring of 2017. His owner, title one instructor Tom Luebke, has trained dogs for years and picked Whitaker as a puppy for the specific purpose of training him to be a therapy dog. The ever social Whitaker is a Goldendoodle, three-quarters Poodle and one-quarter Golden Retriever, making him hypoallergenic and giving him the perfect demeanor for his job.

“He has added a huge dimension to this school. The kids absolutely adore him, and he loves being here,” Luebke said. “Having him here, it does kind of seem like there is more of a calm when he is in the building. The kids have that comfort of having a dog that is here to unconditionally love them.” – Tom Luebke