Yzabelle Bostyn
SCHOOLS on the Costa del Sol have welcomed Spain’s first ever police dog who helps teach children how to read.
Local police in Mijas enrolled Bobby this month as part of a public animal therapy scheme.
The programme will take place in nurseries and primary schools for children with special needs.
Bobby arrived in Mijas three years ago and has been taken care of by a local policeman, David Gutierrez, since then.
The policeman had always dreamed of having a Beagle and the pooch quickly became a local celebrity.
Over time, David realised Bobby’s potential to help local kids and he underwent training.
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Before long, Bobby became Spain’s first ever dog trained to help children with special needs to read.
David said: “There are other dogs in Spain that do similar things but they do it through psychologists or teachers.
“We’re the first local police force to do it.”
The service is completely free for children who meet programme requirements.
Mijas was already a pioneer in policing thanks to their ‘Tutor Agent’ programme.
The initiative, which began in 2017, was designed to protect children in educational environments through preventive measures.
To start with, the programme focussed on decreasing absenteeism, bullying and drug consumption in young people.
Later on, it also incorporated a local mental health organisation, Afesol.
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Now, Bobby has become part of the initiative as a pilot programme takes place in El Albero de Mijas school.
From March to June this year, he will be helping children to read and if all goes well, the project will extend to other schools in the area.
Although Bobby’s main function is to encourage and improve reading, he will also address children’s individual needs, including self esteem issues and socialisation.
Children will be able to stroke, interact and hopefully, take Bobby for walks.
He is already having an impact and has helped one absentee return to class after a ‘bad experience’ made the ‘anxious’ pupil avoid school.
To become Spain’s first ever canine reading champion, Bobby had to pass two tests.
One was spending time in Madrid’s El Escorial park to show that he wasn’t impulsive.
The other was interacting with children in a hospital to demonstrate he would not react aggressively to tugs and strokes.
Maria del Campo Pozo, headteacher at CEIP El Albero, said: “We’re really excited to have this programme.
“We were going to finance dog therapy ourselves and it was going to cost €90 per hour. Now we can invest that money in other projects.”
Programmes like this, says Maria, ‘massively helps children who have difficulty interacting.’
