Travis The Dog
Travis, Irelands First Community Dog
Travis joined the staff of St Peters’ College in May 2020. He was an instant hit with his colleagues and all the students of our school.
Travis was born in May 2017 and spent 2 years training to become a Guide Dog. He spent 1 year working as a guide dog in Co. Cork. He was retired after 1 year. The role as a Guide became too much for him. A dog with the level of training that Travis has needs to be constantly worked and stimulated. The Irish Guide Dogs had been looking to pilot the Community Dog Programme and Travis was the perfect Dog for this role.
Travis the Community Dog, along with his trained handler, Donncha McCarrick have become part of the essential learning process within the school. Travis and Mr. McCarrick work alongside all the educational staff and external educational therapists in and about the school to help reduce stress and increase the learning potential of the students by goal directed interventions. Together, the trained dog and handler participate in classroom activities and work with individual students and groups.