'School dog' programs on the rise

'Builds independence, empathy in students'

A file photo for illustrative purposes. [123RF]
A file photo for illustrative purposes. [123RF]

In Japan, dogs go to school alongside children.

At Urayasu Municipal Irifune Junior High School in Chiba Prefecture, a Labrador retriever named Dolce spends time mingling with small groups of students, according to the Nikkei and Yonhap.

Originally a guide dog candidate for the visually impaired, Dolce was trained as a school dog by the Japan School Dog Association, a group that places dogs in educational settings. Dolce lives with Principal Koichiro Ochiai and has followed him to school every day since April. Ochiai has completed training on how to facilitate interaction between dogs and students.

At school, Dolce serves as an emotional support presence for both students and staff.

"My greatest hope is that all students — including those who refuse to come to school — will feel they want to be here, through Dolce's presence," Ochiai said.

Japanese elementary schools long gave students contact with animals by keeping rabbits and chickens in on-campus enclosures. According to the Chiba City Board of Education, schools in the district once kept as many as 500 rabbits. Concerns about zoonotic diseases led to the practice being phased out entirely after 2014.

Awareness has since grown that caring for animals fosters independence and empathy and encourages communication among students, prompting schools to bring animals back onto campuses.

According to the Japan School Dog Association, school dogs are now permanently based at five junior and senior high schools, while 19 elementary, junior high and senior high schools run regular school dog visit programs.

There have also been cases in which students who had stopped attending school — a recognized social problem in Japan — resumed coming in order to see the school dog.

An association official said students who are uncomfortable around animals can sit away from the dog after consulting with teachers and classmates. "It can also be an opportunity to learn how to interact with assistance dogs — including how to negotiate distance when you want to keep space from a guide dog," the official said.

Meanwhile, some libraries in the United States have run reading-dog programs since 1999, encouraging children who show little interest in books to read aloud to dogs. Some libraries in Japan have since adopted similar programs.


cook@heraldcorp.com