STAFF at a Tyrone school for children with learning difficulties have launched a GoFundMe campaign to pay for the training and upkeep of a support dog, which has already helped a non-verbal child with autism speak for the first time.
Four-year-old Dylan McCarron from Strabane attends Knockavoe school in the town. He has autism and prior to attending a training day for assistance dogs in Belfast earlier this month he had never spoken a word. During the training day however, when Dylan was playing with support dog Póga he said ‘dog’ multiple times.
Staff at Knockavoe have since launched a GoFundMe page to pay for the rest of Póga’s training which will cost over £7,000.
A school spokesperson said, “In the next coming months the nurture staff will undertake intense training alongside Póga… The cost and ongoing cost of having Póga in our school will require us to fundraise for this invaluable addition to the family.
“Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is simply more than spending time with an animal. It involves specific therapeutic goals and strategies and outcome measures, therapeutic experiences for an animal, as well as processing the experience of trying to achieve a given task.”
Póga will be living with the McLaughlin family in Newtownstewart. Ciara McLaughlin works at Knockavoe as a teacher and will be one of the people with primary care for Póga.
Ciara said, “As a teacher in Special Education for 17 years I can honestly say that the benefits are endless for our pupils spending time with a therapy dog. I was eager to apply for our very own therapy dog. Getting the call before Christmas from Geraldine at ADNI was the most special call I received and announcing the news to pupils and staff was a day I will never forget.
“After such a busy year of staff undertaking fundraising to enhance our outdoor play equipment and provisions to support the needs of all our children, we are overwhelmed by the amount of support and willingness to again raise awareness for the importance of our school having Póga the therapy dog join our team. As you can see on our GoFundMe page we are again reaching out to the families and friends of all who support our school and our efforts to ensure our children meet our mission statement of Reaching for a brighter Future.’
“From the very first moment Póga joined our family he was destined to make a difference and that I have no doubt he will. Not only in school will Póga be cherished but he is also the newest member of our home and our three children are in love already!”
To donate to the GoFundMe you can click the link on the Knockavoe School Facebook page or by using the QR code. To follow Póga’s progress you can go to the Instagram page @its_notjustplaywithpoga.
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