Meet the dalmatian dog helping stressed-out Derbyshire pupils

An award-winning dalmatian dog has visited a Derbyshire school to help calm stressed-out students ahead of their A-level exams.

Three-year-old Hero was invited to Swanwick Hall School, near Alfreton, to spend time with Year 12 and 13 students in the classroom.

His owner, 17-year-old A-level student Tilly, said she wanted to help her classmates de-stress.

Hero and Tilly competed at Crufts 2024 in the Post Graduate Dog category.

They came first in the category, beating 23 other dalmatian dogs to take first prize.

Tilly said: "He's so in tune with everyone's emotions. He just knows, he knows everything, emotions, how you're feeling. If you're sad, he'll just come to you and he won't leave you alone. He'll pester you for the whole day until you're happy and smiling."

Tilly says Hero has a great personality and a lovely temperament.

She said: "You see him and it just brightens up your whole day. He's just so happy, so waggy and everything.

"Then it's just, you end up catching on to those feelings and feeling the same way."

Tilly said he was such a great companion for her, so she decided to take him to her school to cheer her fellow students up.

Jonny, 17, is in his final year of studying for his A-level exams at the school. He says it is stressful at the moment, but having Hero around really helps calm his nerves.

After a tough lesson or exam, Jonny said it was nice for him to see Hero "for a bit of a debrief and stress relief".

Matilde, 17, said: "He's a ball of joy. He brings a smile to everyone. Having him around, it's like therapy. Even if you're revising, he's just looking at you. He just motivates you to keep on going."

Tilly has big ambitions for her dog. She says she hopes he can be trained to become a Pets As Therapy dog.

National charity Pets as Therapy takes friendly dogs and cats into care homes, hospitals, schools and prisons.

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