About
A Children's Book Experience with a Real Assistance Dog is a motivational speaker for hire in Gawler, SA.
Hedwig is a real working Assistance Dog, and he's the heart of this session. Children aged 5 to 8 hear a live reading of When You See a Dog in a Vest, then meet Hedwig and learn what Assistance Dogs actually do: why they wear vests, why you don't pat them on duty, and how to stay calm and respectful around them. There's time for questions too. Built for Prep to Grade 2, it suits primary schools, libraries, early learning centres and community events, and it needs nothing more than a quiet indoor space where everyone can see the book. A gentle, practical way to teach inclusion and empathy.
The show
The book comes first. When You See a Dog in a Vest gets read aloud, and that opens out into a conversation about what Assistance Dogs actually do all day. Hedwig is right there in the room, working, which is the point. Children learn how to behave around him: calm voices, give him space, no patting while he's on duty. And they get to ask questions, which is usually where the best bits happen. Thirty minutes is the recommended length, though it can run as short as twenty or stretch to forty with more time for questions. Built for Prep to Grade 2, and it works just as well in a library or an early learning centre as a classroom.
On the day
A quiet indoor space is all it takes. Children seated, with a clear view of the book, and enough calm that a working dog isn't being distracted while the reading is going on. No staging, no technical set-up, nothing to plug in.
Insurance and paperwork
Working with Children Check
