Winnie - Working Wonders

Our Lady of Dolours School at Mitchelton has welcomed a new staff member to its ranks – Winnie, a therapy dog.

Winnie is owned by School Chaplain, Mrs Rachel Stigter, and has recently completed her final accreditation.

“Winnie has always been a very calm and gentle dog”, said Mrs Stigter. “People would often say that she’d make a wonderful therapy dog and that started me thinking about the potential for introducing her as a support animal in our school environment.”

“Winnie was in training for over six months before she received her certification”, said Mrs Stigter.

Principal, Mrs Tricia Howard, is a great advocate of the benefits of therapy dogs at school.

“The benefits of a therapy dog in an educational setting are well documented” continued Mrs Howard. “They provide significant social-emotional support and lower the stress levels of young people. Therapy dogs have been shown to improve the physical wellbeing of students, decrease anxiety, ease social isolation, and help children learn social skills.”

In particular, therapy dogs are credited with impressive results in supporting young people in improving literacy and reading skills. Look out for some amazing results the school's newest member of staff very soon!