I first met Sara Sarre 11 years ago at the Island Dog Training Centre, when I was very involved in the training and care of a beautiful Springer Spaniel named Winston who lived with my parents. Sara helped with Winston’s fear of getting into the car as well as any other issues we needed help with. This was my first experience with dog training and saw first hand the benefits of having a well trained dog.
Over the years I continued to see Sara online or hear about Sara in their role with Paws for Support, and to see the benefits of this being included within schools which my daughter has now benefited from.
This year we were blessed with owning and taking care of a special deaf Spanish water dog puppy named Rafa. Seeing as having a deaf puppy is very rare we felt we would benefit from one to one dog training and naturally Sara came to mind.
Sara is incredibly busy and I am grateful that they have a moment to have a quick chat with us.
Sara, thank you for talking with us.
How did you first get involved with dog training?
Probably how most people do, I went to the local dog club with my first dog and really enjoyed it. After a couple of years the club asked me to be an assistant trainer and it went from there. I enjoy learning about the dogs and helping people succeed with training a range of breeds and personality types – no dog is the same.
How many dogs do you own?
A lot of people would say too many but I love having a pack, its not for the faint hearted but each dog brings something new to the family. I currently have Spaniels and Chihuahuas.
What drew you to start Paws for support and what can you tell us about it please?
During a visit to the UK Kennel Club Offices, I say a flyer for ‘Bark and Read Scheme’ where children would read to dogs in school helping to improve literacy skills. Being a teacher and dog trainer, I could see huge possibilities for not only reading but for other aspects of the curriculum. I did some research and approached my school, found some like minded people and the Charity is now going from strength to strength, not only training therapy dogs but also disability assistance dogs.
What benefits have you seen when therapy dogs meet children, young people and the elderly?
The dogs bring such joy to people, just their presence and eye contact has been proven to make us feel good – they are so cute!
They can start a conversation, bring something different to a person’s day, opening people up to new things, help teach new skills and help embed old ones.
The therapy dogs are so happy to see us and are so unassuming, always willing to try and wanting to please. They bring out the best in all of us.
I have seen a dog be such a calming influence that a child fell asleep after a difficult incident. They have helped children overcome fears and help them deal with worries. One of our therapy dogs helped a child be more confident at attending school and helped them make friends.
The schools have seen improvements with reading levels and the children enjoy the educational assemblies helping them all stay safer around dogs.
In hospital and the nursing homes we have witnessed the residents and patients joy and distraction from situations, spark reminders of days gone by and gaining positive responses that may not have been seen for a while by the staff.
In the offices visits we had seen huge evidence of how its not just the young and the old that are encouragingly affected by the dogs, we hear people saying “best work day ever”, “made my day”, “aaaawwwww”, so you get the picture.
The stroking and patting of dogs has been proven to give us that ‘happy hormone’ release which benefits everyone regardless of age, ability and circumstances. The members and their dogs also get a lot out of the visits too. I know that it is always the highlight of my day being able to bring such a positive reaction to even just one person.
Thank you Sara for sharing and for opening our eyes to the amazingly positive effect that dogs can have on us. How stroking a dog can release that happy hormone. An example of embracing nature and the simple things of life to help improve our mental health wellbeing. Sometimes it just takes something simple to help us feel better. I am so happy that these dogs can help our Guernsey residents young and old and also help restore faith in this animal and help those who are nervous around dogs too. It also goes to show the vast benefits to the community when you invest time and effort into having a well trained dog.
Fresh Bread & Faith 