Tale of our dog Diggers

Join hosts Joe and Mark as they discuss the topic of Animal Assisted Therapy. They interview Sarah Macdonald about her experience in this industry and her background that lead her to become an Animal Assisted Therapist.

Author: Kristy Porter Teacher Sarah Macdonald discovered her love of learning later in life, but she always loved dogs. She has combined these loves to launch Canine Comprehension, a company that brings therapy dogs to schools to interact with children.   Sarah uses therapy dogs to help young people get to a place where they are…

Cranbourne’s Oscar the kelpie and his owner Alissa Lever, a provisional psychologist, regularly visit schools around the area in their roles and have seen first-hand the impact of the therapy on students. Oscar is on the payroll for Canine Comprehension, which runs wellbeing programs in schools. Each of Oscar’s classes consists of 10 students chosen…

Returning to onsite learning, schools continue to have a huge task of managing students’ educational outcomes and balancing mental health after the social deprivation and uncertainty that COVID 19 brought to their families. Schools are looking for new ways to support children who are struggling with disconnection, anxiety, depression and loneliness. Lockdowns may be over,…