Meet your Speechie & Therapy Dogs

Alanna Wilson-Duff completed her Masters of Speech Pathology at The University of Melbourne and has a long background in linguistics, pedagogy and bilingualism.
Her areas of special interest include bilingualism and multicultural families, literacy, fluency and phonological disorders. She enjoys working with children of all ages and has two children of her own.
​Alanna is particularly passionate about incorporating her trained therapy dogs into her speech pathology practice and is a firm believer in the benefits of animal-assisted intervention.

"Shakey" is first and foremost a gentleman. A silver weimaraner, he is big in stature and even bigger in heart. He loves children and has helped many many little people along their way to happier days.  Shakey is kind and patient, always has an ear to lend and never ever tells the secrets his friends whisper to him. He loves scratches and cuddles, pats and walks, and can sometimes even be talked into a game of fetch. Shakey is now a retiree, at nearly 15 years of age (or 105 in dog years), but still loves to come into the clinic to say hello to everybody and make sure that Gandalf is not getting into mischief.

"Gan-Gan" is Shakespeare's protege and has been studying with the master since he was just 8 weeks old. He knows he has very big boots to fill! He has just turned 2 and while his training will continue for years to come, he is ready to take the baton. Also a silver weimaraner, Gandy is a gentle giant with a sweet temperament perfectly suited to therapy, and who is particularly sensitive to babies and toddlers. He is also trained in administering deep-pressure therapy and many of his friends enjoy his reassuring weight when they need it. He is an immense sook and loves smooching and playing games. He's also rather silly and sometimes needs help remembering his social graces, just like some of his little human friends!