
Meet Pixie, the therapy dog
Whilst Mabel, our regular therapy dog is on maternity leave looking after her new puppies, we welcomed Pixie and her trainer Lisa, to The Link Secondary School.
They are also part of the Canine Assisted Wellbeing Group (CAWG) which is dedicated to improving the mental health, emotional wellbeing and literacy of young people through professional canine support.
Pixie and Lisa support students with strategies for staying calm, reducing anxiety, and help others with their reading in a calm and relaxed environment. However, some students, like Malachy, simply want to gain more confidence with dogs. At the end of his session, Malachy felt secure enough to take Pixie for a short walk around school.
Students can enjoy one to one or small group sessions, where they can play with, stroke, talk and read with Pixie. Students that spend time with the therapy dog, said that she makes them feel, “happy and relaxed”. Canine assisted therapy sessions take place every week, we will you posted with their adventures.