Caroline Hammat
Two weeks into his role at Millicent High School (MHS) as a wellbeing dog Basil is already making his presence felt, particularly as office partner of Tam Gould who is forming a bond with the new addition.
The 12 week old cocker spaniel belongs to MHS finance officer Shannon Nicholls who purchased the dog with his role as a support for wellbeing co-ordinator, Ms Gould, in mind.
Ms Nicholls was not looking for another dog at the time but having two cocker spaniels at home already she decided if it was going to happen it needed to be while her other dogs were still young.
“It was going to be now or never, this was my only opportunity to help the school,” she said.
“I’m bringing him here each day, working with Tam and training him for the school, we will slowly introduce him to the classrooms next year.
“At the moment it is just getting him familiar with all the noises, people and the goings on at school, just to make him a relaxed dog.”
Basil’s role at the school is to help calm students and not to become a distraction in the classroom.
Ms Nicholls said the breed is a good fit for the role as they love to be around people and will show affection to anyone that shows it to them.
It has been a long process to get approval for Basil with former principal John Shelton signing off on the suggestion of a wellbeing dog before he retired at the end of last year.
“We were looking at getting a dog, I’ve always wanted one at the school so when Shannon came to me at the start of last term and said, I know you’re interested in getting a dog what if it was my dog, I said absolutely,” Ms Gould said.
“I wasn’t in a position to have a puppy and this way if it doesn’t work out then he just goes to Shannon’s.
“He’s going to be a real resource we can use in our wellbeing space which we’ve integrated into the school over time.
“We have our own huddle space and he will be part of that which is fantastic, sometimes students don’t need to have full on conversations, they just need a break.
“They can come in here and have puppy cuddles for five minutes and go back to class, it’s that circuit breaker more than anything.”
Part of Basil’s training is to become accustomed to the classroom environment with his first brief visit taking place on Monday.
“He will get to see a lot of people at the library as well when Tam has her door open, nothing too overwhelming at this stage” Ms Nicholls said.
Last week Flow students received an unplanned visit as Ms Gould was away and with Ms Nicholls busy undertaking end of month work the decision was made to send Basil across to the Millicent Community Learning Centre building.
“We are not doing a lot of that just yet but I was really busy and with Tam being away I had trust somebody over there to watch him.” Ms Nicholls said.
“He should really be with Tam or myself at all times so we can pick up on his cues if he’s had enough.
“It worked because they had five students there at most and they are a bit older, so they know not to be noisy.”
Both Ms Gould and Ms Nicholls have noticed a change in the atmosphere at school already, among both staff and students, finding that Basil helps spark conversation easily.
But at the end of the day the wellbeing of the dog is the most important thing.
“If it’s not working for him, its’ not working,” Ms Gould said.
Ms Gould’s role at MHS is focused on wellbeing across the school and replaces the role of school counsellor, supporting students through special education, attendance, funding support and day to day conversations about wide ranging subjects.
