Helping children and young people like Sputnik (and Dougie the dog)

Meet Sputnik. That’s his tag-name. But if he writes it on the walls in the Epuni Care and Protection Centre Residence he’ll have to scrub it off.

He’s in the process of learning that there are consequences for his actions. At times aggressive, the otherwise bubbly 11-year-old is also learning about empathy. Each fortnight, Sputnik and other children from the centre get to train and feed an SPCA puppy. Trainers sit with the children, many of whom are victims of abuse, to teach them how to handle the puppies.

Epuni manager Ross Barber says: “Developing empathy is natural, but exposure to violence interrupts this process. Contact with safe, loving others can begin to redress this harm.” Sputnik’s planning to get his own dog one day. “He’ll be my best friend, and I’ll call him Sputnik II.”