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Making the Case for Dogs in the Classroom

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Originally published in TEACH Magazine, September/October 2019 Issue

By Alex Newman

When law student Michelle Woolfrey was 16, a rare brain condition led to severe visual impairment and sight loss. For the first year or so, she walked with a cane, but unfortunately, she experienced severe bullying from her classmates.

So, she soon transferred to the School for the Blind in Brantford, ON, some 250 km away. During her second year of attendance at the new school, she received a fully-trained service Poodle named Thompson who replaced the cane. The following year, Woolfrey was able to return to her hometown of Barrie, ON, and back to her former high school.

The difference between her year with a cane, and her year with a dog, was “night and day,” she says. “I was no longer the weird girl with the stick, but Michelle with the cute dog. We became a conversation starter rather than a conversation ender, and a way for me to make friends.”

Although Thompson wasn’t formally trained as a psychiatric service dog, he quickly learned how to calm her down—since being diagnosed, Woolfrey had developed an anxiety disorder.

Dogs also assist with other special needs, especially students with autism. Retired special education teacher Margaret Marsh witnessed this firsthand during her years at the Waterloo Regional School Board in Ontario.

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Alex Newman is a Toronto freelance writer and editor. Visit her website, alexnewmanwriter.com.

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Alex Newman
Alex Newman
Alex Newman is a Toronto freelance writer and editor. Visit her website, alexnewmanwriter.com.

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