Livingston Today

The Brighton Area Schools Board of Education commended one of its special education teachers at its June 12 meeting for 15 years of her therapy dog initiative. Karen Storey was recently recognized by the state of Michigan for starting the Brighton Area School Pack of Dogs.

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) entered Storey into the congressional record, according to a WHMI report, as she recounted how Storey worked as a special education teacher in Brighton Area Schools. Storey witnessed the response of her students to a dog, spurring her to create a therapy dog program to ease their stress and offer social and emotional aid. Under her guidance, the program has grown to include 15 dogs that serve the district’s students, including three at the high school, according to the report.

“This really is about a team,” Storey said during the meeting, streamed on YouTube. “This is not about me. And my one takeaway for me is these dogs continue to unify everyone they come in contact with. And I just want to tell you thank you to all of you for coming tonight. And I thank you to our Board of Education. I thank you for supporting me and believing in me and knowing who I am as a real person.”

In addition to providing therapy for BAS students, the dogs and their handlers went to Oxford schools in Oakland County in 2021 to provide aid to students in the wake of a school shooting that left four dead, with the canines helping to ease the student anxiety, according to WINS News.

The Pack, according to a report in the Mike and Jon podcast, recently traveled to the Michigan State University campus after three students were killed there earlier this year, providing comfort to students, alumni and staff with the wag of a tail.

During the Brighton board of education meeting on June 12, members of the Oxford, MSU and BAS communities expressed their thanks, and offered platitudes for Storey, who has made many sacrifices to expand the program.

During the meeting, Storey announced that she plans to retire after 15 years at the helm of the program to spend more time with her family.

“You have this great story and your spirit of calm, compassion, courage and confidence, not only will help here, but they will surely live on as a legacy,” State Rep. Ann Bollin (R-Brighton Township) said during the meeting. “On behalf of the state of Michigan, I want to present this tribute in your thanks for all your contributions to our community and wish you the very, very best of luck.”