By Michelle Crean

A four-month-old puppy is the latest addition to school life at one local secondary school and his homework is to help students and staff.

On Wednesday, there was great excitement as therapy dog Zoomer joined the school community at St Brigid's on New Road - the second post primary school in the county to welcome such a dog.

It's part of the My Canine Companion (MCC) charity which has a number of therapy dogs in schools across the country.

Deirdre Horgan from MCC paid a visit to schools looking for families for the charity's socialisation programme. ​​​​​​

Zoomer is a mix of a sheepdog and a poodle and Deirdre's dog Fifi is his mother.

In May Fifi had 10 puppies all named with the letter 'z'. Just recently Fossa National School welcomed Zoomer's sister Zazu to their classrooms, and puppy Zoro went to the CBS in Tralee.

The dogs not only provide comfort and support to pupils and students with Autism but to all in the school.

"There is an increasing body of research to support the benefit of a dog in school," Ber O’Connor, a teacher in St Brigid's, said.

Zoomer will be under the guidance of Ms O’Connor and some Transition Year students who will undertake a specific training programme for the therapy dog.

"The dog will be based in different rooms around the school but will have a timetable of interactions. We hope Zoomer settles in well and brings joy to many of our students lives. You can follow all the updates of Zoomer's life on Instagram by following @zoomersbk or his TikTok account 'zoomerthepuppy'.