16 Oct 2023
We are so excited to inform you that Murphy, our Wellbeing School Dog, will start visiting our school this term. Murphy is part of our Wellbeing Dog Program which is designed to assist with educational support and provide affection and comfort to all students and staff.
Murphy is a 4-month-old Labradoodle puppy. He was identified as having a suitable temperament required for a School Wellbeing Dog by qualified Dog Behaviouralist at 8 weeks old. He is a very easy going and fun-loving puppy that has made wonderful progress during his intensive trauma therapy training. Being a Labradoodle, Murphy has a non-shedding, allergy friendly coat. He will be regularly bathed and groomed for school. Murphy will always be supervised by his handlers. At school, he will begin engaging with students through individual and small group interventions, which will then progress to whole class and playground interactions as he becomes more comfortable in our school environment. All interactions with Murphy are completely voluntary.
Students will be informed about procedures regarding animal handling and how Murphy will fit into the school routine. Murphy will attend school three days per week to support our students, as he will require rest days in between to ensure the consideration of his own wellbeing.
It has been well documented that dogs can decrease anxiety and benefit children’s learning and development. Click here to read about how therapy dogs can help students in the classroom with more than stress relief.
We have an opt-out permission system which means that unless we receive a notification in writing to opt-out, it will be recorded that you are happy for your child to interact with Murphy our wellbeing dog.