Testimonial For Bella, Our School Therapy Dog

My daughter Poppy started at Broadfield School in September 2024.

Before this, Poppy was quite frightened of dogs. When she was much younger, she would run into a main road if she saw a dog, even at a distance, whether it was on or off a lead – regardless of oncoming traffic.

Poppy did stop running into roads as she got older, and was ending primary school. However, she would still panic and stand behind me, or stand on the edge of a main road, as a dog was approaching, and would shout in distress. Poppy didn’t want go out walking with us at home often, and we believe that the fear of seeing dogs was a big factor in this.

As agreed with Broadfield staff, Poppy began a slow exposure programme with Bella, the therapy dog, soon after starting there.

Poppy had a supervised 1:1 session every week for a time, and Bella sometimes came into her classroom.

In February 2025, we received photographs of Poppy stroking Bella, and walking her on a lead.

In April 2025, Poppy has been on her first ever dog walk with myself, a friend and her dog, for one hour. Poppy held the lead for a short time, and she stroked the dog. We passed another 9 dogs whilst out walking. Poppy was still showing some nervousness, but she enjoyed talking to the dog, and asking other dog owners about their dogs’ names, breeds and how old they are. She would stand in quite close proximity.

The change in Poppy’s experience with dogs within 7 months has been significant, and has been down to the gradual, planned and communicated exposure to Bella in school. This has led to Poppy going out for more walks at home, which is helping her physically. Poppy now stops dog owners and asks them questions about their dogs whenever we see them, which is improving her social skills and language skills.

This has not only led to an improvement in Poppy’s overall well-being, but to ours as a family, as we now all walk together and can enjoy more outdoor activities.