Dogs are heading back to Japanese schools, and students love it

Every morning, a Labrador retriever named Dolce trots into a junior high school in Japan, and students gather around her between lessons. No, she isn't taking anyone's exams, though some kids have asked.

What happened?

At Irifune Junior High School in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Dolce has been a daily presence since April. Students joke with her, asking her to do their exam revision and sports-day practice for them, and then spend their breaks playing with her.

Dolce was originally raised as a possible guide dog for blind people. She was then trained as a "school dog" by the Japan School Dog Association, a group that places dogs in schools. She lives with principal Koichiro Ochiai, who completed training on how dogs and students can get along, and she follows him to school every day.

Ochiai says his biggest hope is that every student, including those who refuse to attend school, will feel "I want to go to school" because of her.

Why is this a thing now?

It used to be common for Japanese elementary schools to keep rabbits and chickens in on-site pens, so children could get close to animals. In Chiba city, schools once kept up to 500 rabbits. Because of worries about diseases that spread from animals to humans, the last one was gone by 2014.

Now the mood is shifting. More people see animal care as a way to build independence and the ability to understand other people's feelings, and as a boost to communication at school.

According to the association, five junior and senior high schools have a resident school dog. Another 19 elementary, junior and senior high schools run regular visit programmes.

What about students who don't like dogs?

The association says there have been cases where a student who had been refusing school, a recognised social issue in Japan, started coming back to see the dog.

Students who are uneasy around animals aren't forced into contact. After talking with teachers and classmates, they can sit away from the dog when it visits their classroom.

An association representative says this can also teach students how to handle service dogs, including what to do when they want to keep their distance.

So the old school rabbit hutch may be gone, but the school animal is finding its way back, this time with a very good sense of timing.