Service Dog Teaches Importance Of Teamwork In Broken Arrow Third Grade Classroom

A third-grade teacher in Broken Arrow is showing students the importance of teamwork.

She has severe allergic reactions and a service dog who stays by her side and helps her.

Mrs. Means’s third-grade class at Vandever Elementary School is all about working together, but no one works with Mrs. Means quite as well as her great Dane, Minnie.

"It can be challenging to do anything independently and to be by myself, just in case something happens when I'm by myself," said Jaydn Means.

Mrs. Means has severe allergic reactions and can easily go into anaphylactic shock. She's allergic to peanuts and certain trees, and even many other things she hasn't been able to identify.

"When it happens, we try to mark down all the things that I ate or was around, to try and eliminate to figure out what it was," she said.

That's why Minnie is here to help.

She's Mrs. Means’s service dog and keeps her eyes on Mrs. Means while she's teaching in case something happens.

"She will put her head in my lap and then kind of start whining and whimpering at me, and I put my hand out for her to smell and confirm what's going on, and she just starts nudging my hand, like it's time to go, it's time to go," she said.

Mrs. Means says she has minor allergic reactions where she swells or gets a rash about 8 to 10 times a week, but full-blown attacks are more sporadic and can't be controlled without epinephrin.

She's been teaching at Vandever Elementary for four years, but this is her first year with a service dog.

Minnie gives Mrs. Means a certain freedom she's always wanted.

"I know there's always somebody there watching and protecting me so I can focus on the students and focus on my lessons," she said.

She feels like Minnie treats the students in her classroom like family. The students love her but know they can't pet or play with Minnie and that she's there to do a job.

Mrs. Means says one of her favorite things is that Minnie is teaching the students a valuable lesson they will see throughout their lives.

"Many of them have said I've never seen a service animal before, what do they do, so we've had conversations about how important she is and what they do, and even to the point where we have practiced whole group several times, so they know what it looks like when Minnie goes to get help," she said.