Rocket starts his Dog Mentor journey in the best place!

Today was a big day for Rocket 🚀—the 6-month-old rescue pup I recently adopted from Many Tears Animal Rescue. He’s never lived in a home before, so we’re starting from scratch: family life, routines, boundaries and building the skills he’ll need to become a Dog Mentor.

Where better for his very first school visit than High Halstow Primary School—the place where The Dog Mentor began? I took Rocket along to help say a fond farewell to their Year 6 pupils, and it turned into the perfect early training opportunity. These pupils have grown up with several Dog Mentors over their time at the school, and it really showed. They greeted Rocket calmly, gave him space to observe, used soft hands, and read his body language beautifully. Honestly, they gave him the lesson today!

What Rocket practised today:

Meeting experienced, dog-savvy children in a calm, structured way.

Processing a busy environment with movement, chatter, and emotion (Year 6 leavers day!).

Accepting gentle handling and stepping away when he needed a breather.

Learning that school spaces = safe, fun, caring humans.

He handled it brilliantly for a youngster with so little life experience. Lots of curiosity, gentle check-ins with me, and growing confidence with every interaction. I’m so proud of him. 🧡

Huge thanks to the staff and pupils at High Halstow for giving Rocket such a positive start to his Dog Mentor journey. We’ve got a long road ahead—house training, school training, resilience building—but today was a milestone, and I couldn’t be happier.