Teachers' pets

The capacity of companion animals to mend our feelings and help restore us to health is not the only good they can do us. It appears they can help us learn too. Researchers in Austria have been examining the influence that classroom pets can have on children and their behaviour.

Dogs were introduced to an ordinary, mainstream primary school class and the reaction of the pupils monitored. Far from being a distraction, the study found that when the dog was present the more boisterous and fidgety children calmed down while the quieter, more reserved children became more involved in the lessons; and they all paid greater attention to the teacher.

The potential benefits that pets can bring to the classroom have been taken a practical step further by a school in Hampshire where there is a rather more demanding educational environment. The Loddon School provides residential care for children with autism and other severe learning difficulties.

As part of the curriculum, children have regular contact with animals. Not only do the children gain emotionally from the relationship they form with the pampered and cosseted on-site menagerie of dogs, ponies and pigs, there are social and educational plus points as well.

The act of caring for an animal encourages the children to think empathetically, identifying with the needs of another. It also helps them on a practical teaching level too: the children learn how to count and measure when feeding the animals, how to recognise parts of the body and how to understand the environment.

Elizabeth Ormerod, chair of the Society for Companion Animal Studies, believes that the role of pets in the lives of all children, and not just those who find it difficult to communicate or to identify with a world beyond their troubled selves, can be a lastingly positive one. "Through learning to care for and understand animals, children develop greater empathy for other people, which helps to improve both human and animal welfare," she says.

The areas where pet therapy can make a valuable contribution are growing all the time. Animals are now not only working their wonders in hospitals, nursing homes and schools but in mental health centres and on drug rehabilitation programmes too. Indeed, more and more professional bodies and social agencies are coming to acknowledge the profound influence that companion animals can have on our lives, and especially on those who face difficult times and circumstances.

A naturalist once described pets as a bridge between people and nature. It seems they can also be a bridge to ourselves and to each other.

Lottery boost for Canine Partners

For most people answering the phone, putting on a load of washing or even picking up a paper at the local shop is something that is done with little effort or without a second thought. But for people like Judy they are simply not possible without her four-legged friend Kermit.

Judy Wilkinson has progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), a condition of the brain and spinal cord, which make up the central nervous system. Damage to myelin (the fatty tissue that protects the nerve fibres of the central nervous system) interferes with messages between the brain and other parts of the body.

Says Judy: "Life for many people like me has been enhanced thanks to the support and assistance of a canine partner. My partner Kermit, a standard poodle, provides me with a companionship that could never be replaced - he is my best friend!

"I live in London by myself with Kermit and my two cats. Kermit and I have been together for two years and at that stage I was the first person to have a canine partner in London. I still have a carer who helps me out during the day but Kermit is my safeguard, especially at night when we are home alone. He has been trained to perform a multitude of commands, in fact 102 in total! He can fetch the phone or mobile, pick up my shoes, load the washing machine and even select and buy my groceries."

There are around 850,000 people in the UK who could benefit from a Canine Partners' dog. The current list of applicants means a waiting time of two years.

A recent grant of £370,000 from the Community Fund will help Canine Partners to develop a new training centre and headquarters at Heyshott, West Sussex to provide indoor and outdoor training arenas for dogs, kennelling, offices and accommodation for the 24-hour kennel warden.

Further information from Canine Partners - tel: 08456 580 480 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

You can help

Founded in 1917, PDSA provides free veterinary care for the sick and injured pets of those unable to afford private veterinary fees. The free service is provided through a network of 46 PDSA PetAid hospitals and more than 280 associated private practices. PDSA carries out over one million free treatments every year, a service that costs £33 million and which is funded entirely by public support.

For more information on PDSA, contact PDSA Head Office (PR dept), Whitechapel Way, Priorslee, Telford, Shropshire TF2 9PQ, tel (free): 0800 917 2509 or visit www.pdsa.org.uk

Could you and your pet help others? Find out more about Pets As Therapy (PAT), by contacting 3 Grange Farm Cottages, Wycombe Road, Saunderton, Princes Risborough Bucks HP27 9NS, tel: 0870 240 1239.

Acknowledgements

Reproduced by kind permission of PDSA, the UK's leading veterinary charity. The article was first published in the PDSA Companions magazine.