Wellbeing Dog for Living Faith
I’m excited to share with you that the school will introduce a new staff member to the Pastoral Care team from next year…For many months now, the Pastoral Care team has been researching the possibility of Living Faith having a wellbeing dog. The general philosophy for a wellbeing dog in a school setting is centred around connectedness. Our wellbeing dog will join the Pastoral Care
team and work out of the new Student Wellbeing building (old Year 1 building) which is currently being refurbished. The refurbishment is due to be completed prior to the beginning of the 2024 school year.
Support to the School provided by ‘Dog’s Connect’
The school has recently partnered with Dogs Connect who are an Australian company who have created a world-first mental health and wellness program using the connection that dogs have with people to integrate a permanent wellbeing dog into workplaces. Dogs Connect will provide important help and support (policy, process and curriculum) enabling our dog to integrate into the
community and achieve as many mental health benefits for our students as possible. Dogs Connect have successfully worked with over 300 schools across Australia to successfully implement wellbeing dogs and programs. More information about Dogs Connect is available from their website. You might like to particularly view the case studies and short testimonial videos.
What breed of dog will the school consider having as our Wellbeing Dog?
The school has secured an Australian Cobberdog from a litter born a little over three weeks ago. The licensed breeder is very reputable and lives in the North Lakes area. This breed of dog comes highly recommended from the Dogs Connect team as they have found that cobberdogs have a temperament that flourishes as a wellbeing dog in a school setting.
Cobberdogs are a loving and human-focused companion that are easy to train and they typically seek human touch and eye contact. Please see an example of a cobberdog in the picture below.
Please stay tuned for more information regarding our wellbeing dog.
Andrew Kelly
Principal