Parents campaign for daughter to take therapy dog into school

A couple are fighting for the right of their daughter to take her pet dog to school.
The child has anxiety and other issues, and refuses to go to school. Her parents believe that taking the therapy dog, a golden retriever, into the classroom will help with her wellbeing.
However, Moray council’s education directors do not agree and have cited concerns about how the animal would affect other pupils. The dispute went to an education tribunal this year and both sides are awaiting a judgment.
The local authority told the Scottish Mail on Sunday: “Any requests for assistance animals are considered on a case-by-case basis to take into consideration the full circumstances of the request.
“Each school has a different ability to support such requests and the pupil’s own circumstances are considered as part of the individual risk assessment. Further guidance created to support all assistance dog requests remains in draft while we await national guidance.”
Authorities nationally have been looking at what role animals can play in the classroom. Education Scotland, the schools advice quango, hosted a webinar last year on how animals could help during lessons. However, both the case studies it cited involved dogs being taken in to schools for visits, not as permanent additions to the classroom.
It said: “Interest in using dogs in educational settings for therapeutic purposes, and ultimately to enhance participation in learning, is increasing.
“Practitioners, educational settings and local authorities have made a number of inquiries to Education Scotland about the benefits of dog visits to schools and what they should be considering in practical terms if they want to introduce them. It is the responsibility of local authorities to meet individual pupil needs.”
Concerns remain about animals in schools, not least because some children can be allergic to them. Other youngsters may fear dogs, adding to, rather than reducing, the stress in the classroom.
The Moray parents, who have not been named and did not wish to comment, are understood to have invested substantially in training the dog to help their daughter.
The Canine Concern Scotland Trust runs a scheme called Therapets in which calm animals carry out visits to schools and hospitals. One programme is designed to let children “read” to dogs. “The idea was the dog would listen to them and not judge, allowing them to relax and gain confidence in reading out loud,” the charity said.