HAMILTON NEWS
Therapy dog at Hamilton school proving to be a top teacher
15 Mar, 2019 by Tom Rowland
At 11 weeks old/, Daisy joined the school/ two weeks ago/ to be trained as a therapy dog/, and as students enter/ Te Ao Mārama primary school/ in Flagstaff each morning/ they are greeted by a small furry spoodle Daisy/ the latest member of the school's staff/
Deputy headmaster Anna Pratt/ — and Daisy's owner/ — said she became interested in the growing/ phenomenon of therapy dogs being used in schools around the world/.
"It is really popular in America/, and also in Australia/" Ms Pratt said/. "There were a lot of things we considered/, such as the breed/, the size, the type of coat/ — Daisy has a wool coat so she doesn't/ trigger any allergies./ She has been/ at school/ now for a couple of weeks/, and she has been/ growing in confidence/ and the students/ have been getting more confident/ around her as well/"
Daisy, who is a half/ poodle and half spaniel/, is identified by the fluoro orange jacket/ that has been/ specially made for her/, to show that she is a dog in training/, and to also make her/ stand out when at school events/.
Ms Pratt/. said that having/ a therapy dog/ as young as Daisy/ also helps with dog/ education, and the/ responsibility that/ comes with owning a dog/.
"I was astounded/ as to how many/ kids here had never/ touched a dog/, or even seen a dog/."
"So many kids/ come up saying/ I'm really scared of dogs/, but I really want to pat/ her and now those kids/ are some of the ones/ who come up first to greet Daisy/."
Daisy's routine/ includes heading to road/ patrol in the morning/ and roaming through/ the learning areas/ of the school/ or teaching spaces/.
"Children will read/ to her or draw/ pictures for her/ in class, and then/ after that she will eat/ and sleep for a bit."/
"In research/ it shows that/ patting a dog/ releases the feel/-good hormones/ and it just helps/ settles the kids, and/ they don't become/ distracted/."
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