Meet Beau - Our Companion Dog

Written on the 1 July 2016

Meet Beau, he is an 8 week old labradoodle puppy who has recently joined Beaucare from a local breeder to be trained to work as a Companion Dog in our programs. Beau will work as a community dog and he will be an integral part of Beaucare and our community programs. The key objective is for our Companion Dog to add significant value to our existing programs through the therapeutic relationship he will forge with children, adults and the community in general.

We see the Companion dog will participate in the following:

• Attend functions mascot for Beaucare and informing the community about who we are and what we do.
• Work in conjunction with existing programs of Beaucare ie- Child Care, Aged and Disabilities and Youth and Family support.
• Work within local schools some of the things he would do include working as a reward system for children to promote positive behaviour or work in one to one sessions to promote calm and assist with behaviour management strategies.
• Assist community organisations with functions and events for example being a mascot a Beaudesert state school for the swimming or sports carnival.
• Working collaboratively with other agencies, schools, community centres, hospitals. Generally working with us and using 'Beau' to be of assistance however they see fit.
• We are open to this evolving in however the community and individual agencies see fit.

We know from research companion dogs add significant value to people's lives.  Most notably they have been shown to:

• Reduce stress levels and aggression as the individual feels more relaxed and trusting.
• Reduce anxiety and depression as the presence of a dog decreases psychological symptoms of anxiety and depression.
• Improve mood and self-esteem.
• Increases rapport and engagement between the support worker and the client.
• Have long lasting therapeutic outcomes as the brain stores another positive experience in relationship building.

If you would like to know more about Beau and how he may be able to help you, or if you would like to support Beaucare in the raising and training of Beau to work in our programs, please contact our office on 5541 3654.