Therapy dog helps ease stress in St. Pölten classrooms

A therapy dog is helping students feel calmer and more at ease at St. Pölten-Viehofen Middle School, ORF reports. Tikki, a black Labrador retriever, joins one or two lessons a week across different year groups.

Students say they enjoy being able to pet and play with Tikki during class. Some also find her presence reassuring during exams. “When Tikki is there, the exam feels less difficult,” student Miguel Soyka said.

English teacher Brigitte Neulinger trained Tikki as a therapy dog after getting her during the coronavirus pandemic. The training took a year and included theory courses, practical sessions and an examination. Neulinger paid the approximately 2,000 euros in costs herself, as no specific funding is available. Tikki has been visiting the school for three years.

Neulinger says students are more relaxed and quieter when Tikki is present during exams. The dog also helps some students overcome their fear of dogs, she said. Contact with Tikki is never compulsory, and the school checks for allergies and sets rules for her visits, including keeping food packed away.

The six-year-old dog is named after a magical being in the animated series “Miraculous.”