I have a friend whose teenage daughter has a support dog. I’ve watched that dog quietly and consistently support a young person navigating a world that wasn’t always built for her. And I’ll be honest; I’ve probably rolled my eyes at the idea before. But then I saw it. And I thought, who’s the one who should be rolling their eyes now?
That’s really where this conversation begins, not with a research paper, but with a moment of honesty. And it’s the perfect introduction to Laurelle Fry, who doesn’t talk about dogs in schools the way you’d expect.
No grand claims. Just real stories – a boy who spent an entire school break playing with Frankie because he couldn’t find his way into a friendship group. A child who jumped onto his chair in fear the first time Frankie walked in and now runs over to say hello.
Laurelle is Head of Pre-Prep and Junior Prep at Western Province Prep School in Cape Town, and she’s been bringing her rescue dog Frankie to school for years. But this conversation is really about what schools are for. Culture, belonging, regulation, and why the thing that helps a child feel safe enough to learn sometimes has four legs and a wagging tail.
She has a phrase she keeps coming back to, “home away from home.” After this conversation, I couldn’t stop thinking about what it actually takes to build.
In This Episode We Talk About
- How “Frankie Fridays” started and what happened on the Fridays when Frankie didn’t show up.
- The difference between a therapy dog and a dog who just shows up and makes things better.
- Why the best learning doesn’t happen in the quietest classroom.
- The moment a child’s shoulders drop and what that actually means for their ability to learn.
- How dogs help neurodiverse children regulate in ways that are hard to engineer any other way.
- What happened when Frankie crashed a formal chapel assembly (and why nobody flinched).
- The practical stuff nobody talks about – allergies, bathroom duties, what to do if a dog nips.
- The quiet boy, his Border Terrier puppy, and the small moment in morning drop-off that meant everything.
- Why choosing a school is really about choosing a community and what that has to do with dogs.
- Laurelle’s honest advice for any school or teacher thinking about introducing a dog into their environment.
A Moment That Stuck with Me
“As soon as he’s happy, then he wants to be at school. When he wants to be at school, he wants to learn. When he wants to learn, he feels confident because he’s succeeding and things are happening. So, it’s got this snowball effect that just happens.” – Laurelle Fry
Mentioned in This Episode
- Western Province Prep School – the Cape Town school where Laurelle is Head of Pre-Prep and Junior Prep, and where both Frankie and Apalefi have the run of the place. A school building something real around culture and belonging.
- Bishop’s – where Laurelle taught for 13 years and where Frankie Fridays first began.
- The SPCA – where Frankie came from. Her previous owner was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and chose to rehome her while she was still young enough to be adopted. Worth knowing, because it shapes who she is.
- Reading aloud research – the science behind children reading aloud to dogs: fluency increases, and the mechanics of reading come more easily. It’s the reason Apalefi came to school in the first place – Georgette, the head of learning support, brought her in so boys could read to her instead of a teddy bear.
About Laurelle Fry
Laurelle Fry comes from a family of educators, which probably explains why she talks about school the way she does, not as a place where curriculum gets delivered, but as a living community that children either feel part of or don’t.
She spent 13 years at Bishop’s before moving to Western Province Prep, where she’s now Head of Pre-Prep and Junior Prep. She’s spent most of her career in boys’ education, and she brings to it an instinct for what children actually need, not just academically, but as small humans trying to find their feet in a big world. She talks about creating a “home away from home.” You can tell she means it.
She is also, it must be said, completely besotted with Frankie. I follow her on Instagram, and I can confirm there is photographic evidence of Frankie being pushed in a pram. There was a very good reason. Torn ligaments. The boys loved pushing her around. Of course they did.
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