Last week, Westwood School received a brand new employee in the form of Ronan, a three-year old black Labrador from Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides.
During a school assembly March 12, Dog Guides instructor Melanie Krumme explained to staff and students that Ronan’s main job at the school is to ensure the safety of Maverick Cordell, an eight-year old student living with autism.
“He wears a safety belt that’s attached to Ronan’s harness and when he tries to bolt then Ronan goes into an anchoring position which prevents Maverick from running out into the street or wherever,” Krumme told Nickel Belt News on March 14.
Krumme also mentioned that Ronan is there to help alleviate Cordell’s anxiety and keep him calm, which will allow for a more productive learning environment.
Ronan has been living with Cordell since last August, and has radically changed his family life for the better.
According to Kate Cook, Cordell’s mother, going out into public spaces used to be a pipe dream for their family due to her son’s unpredictable behaviour.
But thanks to Ronan’s calming influence, Cook said that they are able to get out of the house and partake in a variety of activities. This includes simple things such as eating breakfast at a public restaurant or more complex endeavours like walking the busy streets of Winnipeg.
“We recently walked through St. Vital mall, something that would have been very overwhelming for Maverick before,” said Cook. “So [Ronan’s] definitely opened up a new world to us and things that we never thought we would be able to do, we now see as a possibility in the future.”
In terms of Ronan’s presence at Westwood, principal Donna Johnston anticipates that the biggest challenge will come from the other students who might give the dog some unwanted attention.
“It’s really hard when you see a beautiful black lab and you want to interact with the dog,” said Johnston. “We had to have our student assembly to tell the kids that the dog has a job and when the dog is wearing his vest he’s working.”
While Ronan’s first week at Westwood has gone smoothly, Johnston said she is still anticipating some growing pains, since hosting a service dog on a full-time basis is uncharted territory for her school or any other within the School District of Mystery Lake.
“We’re just looking forward to seeing how this is all going to roll out,” said Johnston. “I’m sure there will be other obstacles that come up and we’ll look after those as they arise.”
