Our School Dog - Callie

We are delighted to introduce the latest member of our school community, our therapy dog Callie.   Callie will be starting school in September 2020.  We hope you are as excited as us to meet her.  

Callie is a Female Cockapoo, and she was born on 15th September 2019. Callie’s mum is a black working Cocker Spaniel and her dad is a brown Miniature Poodle. She is called a Tuxedo Cockapoo as she has white paws and chest markings and it looks like she is wearing a Dinner jacket.  Callie was chosen to be our school dog as the Cockapoo breed are well renowned for their lovable and gentle nature and she has already become a loved member of our school community.

Origin of the name Callie - a Greek word meaning beautiful

As the Thompson household are lifelong Liverpool FC supporters, her name was also chosen as it is the nickname of Ian Callaghan. Liverpool’s most capped player and member of the 1966 England World Cup Winners Squad!

Callie will be based in Mrs Thompson’s room but will be available at certain times of the day, when appropriate, for children to interact with.This will

always be under the supervision of staff members.

We will be slowly introducing Callie to all members of the school community and fully expect her as she grows to be involved in many aspects of school life. We hope she will become a valued part of our school through visiting classes, hearing reading,  working with children with special needs, supporting pupils who are upset in any way and in need of calm, comfort and space and offering a positive input to both pupil and staff well being.  Children are taught how to behave when with Callie and also how to be safe around dogs in general. This is beneficial to the children both in and out of school.  We hope that the children and staff will gain a great deal from having Callie in school.

We are sure you are very excited to meet Callie, but please follow these simple rules to help her settle into her new role as our school therapy dog

DO   Make sure you have permission from your parents

DO   Make sure Callie is with an adult

DO   Talk to the adults if you feel nervous

DO   Make sure she is wearing her yellow jacket

DO   Make sure there are only 2 children at a time

DO   Let her sniff the back of your hand first

DO   Use a quiet voice

DO   Move calmly and slowly

  Always be kind and gentle