Kids help dogs, and the dogs help the kids
PUPPIES claw at the guests in a dormitory for dogs, ready to meet their new friends. In the space of one school term, hands and paws meet to help two types of underdog.
Through a system of animalassisted therapy and dog training, The Underdog Project helps high school children from Hout Bay in Cape Town, who are considered to be at risk. The project also involves organisations such as youth care and foster homes.
Hayley Cassels of the project said the main criterion was that a child must join voluntarily.
When pupils identify with a particular dog, it becomes theirs to train for the term.
Cassels said often there was competition between pupils.
She said a “shift” happened when pupils realised it was more about bonding with a dog. Patience and empathy were more important than tricks.
She said the pupils soon understood that the project was not only about themselves, “but about what they can do for another living creature”.
Marscarita Price, 15, of Hout Bay High, wanted to help dogs in her community.
“Dogs are not treated well. They don’t have food or homes,” she said.
During her first lesson she learned about communication. The pupils are taught to be aware of a dog’s behaviour before approaching the animal because some dogs might have been abused.
Liesanne Verbeek, 22, a student social worker from the Netherlands, is an intern at the facility.
“It’s like you’re giving [children] a mirror. A dog can be a reflection for the child’s behaviour,” she said.
Children who have been through the programme also get the chance to volunteer and pass on any skills learned.
Cassels said when dogs were adopted and taken to new homes, children reacted with mixed emotions.
She said that although a goal was to find homes for the dogs, the pupils might struggle with happy-sad feelings of separation.
“They are happy that their dog got a home, but sad to see it go,” she said.
She said the biggest challenges concerned logistics and funding.
Cassels said a “broader challenge” was dealing with the socioeconomic backgrounds of the pupils and what the impact was of interventions such as those at the facility.