EIPIC Children’s Play Dates at SPD

SPD arranged play dates for children from the Building Bridges EIPIC Centre earlier this week as part of the June holiday’s activities and the children had an interesting afternoon with [...]

SPD arranged play dates for children from the Building Bridges EIPIC Centre earlier this week as part of the June holiday’s activities and the children had an interesting afternoon with their newfound friends – canines from Therapy Dogs Singapore (TDS).

The hour-long pet therapy was a pilot collaboration to introduce the children to dogs and cultivate social interaction skills and care for animals. The children were thrilled to pat, hug and walk the dogs. Through such interaction, the children also practiced self-help skills such as grooming the dog, feeding biscuits and playing with them which worked their fine- and gross-motor skills. There were also opportunities for social interaction through greeting the dogs and their owners and learning to call the dogs by their names.

Three-year old Isaiah Teo was all smiles throughout the activity. “The dog therapy session was a unique experience for Isaiah, who had the opportunity to come close to and play with the friendly dogs. He was even able to feed the dogs with doggie treats, which left him ticklish! This activity organised by SPD is definitely beneficial and enjoyable!” said his mother, Mrs Teo.

Four-year-old Tan Zheng Quan also enjoyed this new experience.

“Dogs are indeed men’s best friend. The dog therapy session was very engaging and interesting. The dog owners were trying to engage the children by asking them to put little hoops through the dogs’ heads to their collar area and thereafter praising the children and allowing them to reward the dogs with treats. This is a very new experience for Zheng Quan. He has never been so close to so many dogs and he totally enjoyed walking them,” said his mother, Mdm Adelyn Lim.

TDS is a non-profit organisation formed in 2004 by a group of caring dog owners who sought to share the unconditional love and affection of their dogs with the disadvantaged in society, and to provide pet-assisted therapy to meet the beneficiaries’ physical and emotional needs. They provide regular animal-assisted activity sessions to nursing homes and health institutions, as well as animal-assisted therapy programmes when deemed possible.

We look forward to having our canine friends visit us again soon.