Visiting dog Jenna is a star for the children

Created: 03/10/2022, 02:00 p.m

By: Timo Aichele

A friendly companion is Jenna for the girls and boys.

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Bitch Jenna visits the Pauli Bekehrung children's home in Taufkirchen every week.

The girls and boys learn a lot from the friendly animal.

Taufkirchen

– Friday is Jenna's day at the Pauli conversion kindergarten in Taufkirchen.

The Australian Shepherd bitch comes by with owner Stephanie Tuchardt.

The children look forward to this for a long time.

Because then they are cuddled, stroked, brushed and sometimes treats are laid out, which Jenna is only allowed to eat when she receives a specific command.

Tricks are practiced or retrieval games are played on walks together.

"Jenna has a lot of fun with children," says the 31-year-old from Taufkirchen, whose daughter Lea also goes to kindergarten.

Lea and Jenna are inseparable anyway.

During the encounters, the girls and boys learn a lot about the friendly animals, says the chair of the parents' council, Tuchardt.

How do I behave when a strange dog runs towards me?

What do dogs need?

How do I correctly interpret a dog's signals?

And just by being there, by stroking, cuddling and playing, the four-legged friend conveys well-being to the little ones.

"The children are considerate and show empathy," says Tuchardt.

She's not a pedagogue, which is why Jenna isn't a therapy dog, says Tuchardt, who works as a clerk at Fürmetz Logistik.

But Jenna is also almost therapeutic as a visiting dog.

"The kids have more confidence.

And dogs quickly relieve tension,” reports the mother of two to Lea (3) and Laura (8).

Papa Florian Tuchardt makes the family complete – and of course 15-month-old Jenna.