Therapy Dogs in Wimbledon
by Samantha Harvey, Wimbledon High School
A recent report showed that children working with therapy dogs in schools experienced increased motivation for learning, resulting in improved outcomes. In the last few years, therapy dogs have become more and more popular in schools around the world, especially in the UK, US and Canada. The introduction of these dogs into schools has shown significant benefits, including an increase in attendance amongst students, more advanced reading and writing levels as a result of decreased learning anxiety, a more positive attitude towards learning and a higher motivation level and better relationships between students and their peers or teachers.
Therapy dogs are not only being brought into regular primary schools but also into schools for children with special needs. One such school in Wimbledon is Linden Lodge. Children at Linden Lodge range from being visually impaired to not being able to move at all. The school decided to bring therapy dogs in to attend lessons with some classes as therapy dogs help children learn. If a child has difficulty learning, it can be very stressful to keep trying to read or write or participate in a learning activity if you are struggling, and it does not come naturally. Therapy dogs help the brain to relax, and just the presence of a therapy dog can have an impact on your brain through the various neurotransmitters it releases. For example, oxytocin (“the cuddle hormone”) calms the nervous system, and this increases your ability to learn things. Therapy dogs can help soothe a child and make them feel more relaxed, which assists in their learning process.
As well as in schools, therapy dogs have also been introduced to residential homes, hospitals, hospices, day care centres and prisons. Many of the individuals in these places mainly appreciate being able to interact with a friendly animal, and therapy animals can provide comfort and companionship. In residential homes, more senior residents can feel lonely or cut off, but therapy pets that come in can offer a small bit of joy each week. Therapy dogs in hospitals can help patients not only with emotional support but if a patient has not been able to move much, therapy dogs can help. This is because if a patient has not been becoming more mobile because they don’t believe they can do it, when a dog or cat comes in their first reaction is to stroke the animal, which proves to the patient that they can move, and increases their rate of recovery.
Other therapy animals include cats, horses, guinea pigs or rabbits, reptiles, ie. a snake or lizard and birds such as parrots. While cats can be more difficult to train than dogs and are not capable enough to perform as wide a range of tasks, they are a good alternative for patients who might be scared or intimidated by dogs. Cats are often found in nursing homes. Small animals like guinea pigs or rabbits can improve motor skills and benefit behaviour and emotions. These animals can be preferred compared to canines as because they are smaller, they are easier to contain and take care of. Reptiles are now used in London for patients struggling with depression or eating disorders. It takes a lot of concentration and attention to care for a reptile, which distracts patients and helps them to cope with stress. Parrots have been known to display high levels of empathy and keep patients busy and occupied as they can be taught phrases and words. Caring for birds is most common among veterans suffering from PTSD.
Jacqueline Harvey, who volunteers at Linden Lodge with her dog every week, walked me through her visits - “Every week I take my dog, Toby (the dog in the picture), into Linden Lodge (a Special Needs School) where he works as a Therapy Dog. The children in my classes range from those who are partially sighted and need help to learn day to day skills, for example feeding themselves, to those in wheelchairs who need round the clock care.
We had a recent breakthrough with one of the 12-year-old girls recently: she does not like holding things in her hands, so feeding herself is an issue. We have been encouraging her to walk Toby in the school grounds and last week she managed to hold the lead for about 5 seconds before dropping it. Another big moment was when one of the girls said “Woof woof” when she saw Toby; everyone was very excited as this girl rarely speaks at all”.
