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| December 1998 Professor and dog volunteer
She snorts, snuffles and snores and can be a bit odoriferous at times, but Mike Jakupcak believes his 4-year-old English bulldog, Honey Bear, may be just what he needs to connect with students and people with disabilities. Jakupcak, a UM associate professor of curriculum and instruction, recently completed training to become a volunteer for Delta Society Pet Partners. The national organization uses pets to provide therapy, support and recreational activities in hospitals, rehabilitation clinics, schools and residential facilities for persons with disabilities. Jakupcak helps oversee UM's student teachers, and he also supervises area special education classes. He said joining Delta Society Pet Partners and incorporating Honey Bear into his work was a natural fit. "I visit schools a great deal, and it's nice to take her in and let people enjoy her," Jakupcak said. "She gets a great response from people and is 100-percent safe. It's fun because kids and adults in restricted environments don't always have access to pets." He said it's becoming more common in his field for teachers to use pets as tools, encouraging people with disabilities to become more involved in their environment - to talk and react to the animal. Jakupcak said his first gig with Honey Bear was at Missoula's Meadow Hill School. Jakupcak and his dog were the students' reward for doing well at their studies. Honey Bear wasn't just thrown snorting, wheezing and drooling into the classroom. Jakupcak said she was first given a one-day training session by Deni Elliott-Cramer, director of UM's Practical Ethics Center, who has been involved with Delta Society Pet Partners for several years. She made sure Honey Bear had the right temperament for being around students, people in wheelchairs and noisy environments. The dog will receive a little tag that says "Authorized Pet Partner." "Bear is pretty laid back," Jakupcak said as he fondly looked down on his sleeping dog, who had drool bubbles gathering in the corner of her jaws. "Part of the reason I volunteered for this is that I thought it would be fun." Jakupcak has had Honey Bear for 10 months. He came across her in the Missoulian's giveaway section, making her quite a deal, since bulldog puppies can sell for more than $1,000. The full-breed dog weighs about 60 pounds. -- Cary Shimek
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