{"id":2856,"date":"2011-09-15T01:36:08","date_gmt":"2011-09-15T08:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/?p=2856"},"modified":"2011-09-15T02:19:28","modified_gmt":"2011-09-15T09:19:28","slug":"therapy-dogs-are-a-readers-best-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/therapy-dogs-are-a-readers-best-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"Therapy Dogs Are A Reader’s Best Friend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>On her regular Friday-morning shift, Katie walks into White Rock Elementary and is greeted by the excited students she has come to help read.<\/p>\n

She has two associates in tow \u2013 200-pound, three-foot-tall Chewbacca, whose head could compete with the size of most watermelons, and nine-year-old Dougal, who has been known to sit on students when she senses they are having a rough day.<\/p>\n

Despite having a bad back and sight in just one eye \u2013 not to mention being a dog \u2013 there is no doubting Katie\u2019s ability to engage young learners.<\/p>\n

The six-year-old miniature English bull terrier has been coming to the school the last few months to provide a non-judgemental and inviting audience for students who are working to improve their literacy skills.<\/p>\n

As a fully trained therapy dog certified in the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ) program, Katie \u2013 as well as Chewbacca and Dougal \u2013 can sit for extended periods of time as children read aloud to them.<\/p>\n

For youngsters like Teaghan Summerhayes, practising with dogs makes the daunting prospect of reading in front of a classroom easier to stomach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have stage fright,\u201d the 10-year-old says, noting she was unable to do a recent class presentation. \u201cI don\u2019t like reading out loud but when I read to dogs, I\u2019m fine.”<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I have dogs, I\u2019m not afraid to say what I need to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

The animals are animated listeners, often perking up their ears at certain points in a story, or \u2013 as is the case with Katie \u2013 barking when a student forgets to show her a picture before turning the page.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the fact that when you get to read with the dogs, the dogs actually understand what you\u2019re saying,\u201d Summerhayes says.<\/p>\n

The program was brought to White Rock Elementary by school parent Linda Putman, who began volunteering to read with students last fall with the intention of eventually introducing them to her dog, Katie.<\/p>\n

Katie had nearly completed her therapy-dog training when she lost sight in one eye due to glaucoma. Two years later, after recovering and relearning the necessary skills, the terrier gained her READ certification. She now visits White Rock Elementary once a week, her resilience teaching students how capable animals and people with impairments can be, Putman says.<\/p>\n

In the program \u2013 called Hug-A-Bull Readers \u2013 Katie is joined by Dougal, who knows she is heading to the school as soon as owner Christine Bishop puts on the dog\u2019s special red vest and leash.<\/p>\n

Katie, a standard English bull terrier, has a reputation for being sensitive to children\u2019s moods, having eased a crying boy\u2019s tears by simply approaching him and sitting in his lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the dogs do know they\u2019re here for the children,\u201d Bishop says.<\/p>\n

The pooches relax the children, she notes, distracting them from any fearful aspects of reading by being available for pats and hugs.<\/p>\n

When reciting to the dogs, students aren\u2019t just improving their reading ability, according to Putman. They also learn comprehensive skills by explaining to the dogs what certain words mean, and work on being active listeners when reading in a group.<\/p>\n

Participants \u2013 who are selected by teachers \u2013 also gain self esteem and confidence, and practice important social skills when taking a break from reading to play soccer with Katie. They learn to work as a team and congratulate each other, all the while being mindful of Katie out on the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmpathy is really important,\u201d Putman adds. \u201cAnimals bring empathy out in children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students also learn about responsibility when taking hold of Katie\u2019s leash, bringing her water or carrying her up and down stairs due to her sore back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so much more than just reading,\u201d Putman says of the program. \u201cIt\u2019s a hidden gem that no one knows is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chewbacca\u2019s owner, B.J. Fleegham, says she is aware of just one other school in the Surrey district offering READ. She introduced the program to Don Christian Elementary in Cloverdale two years ago, and continues to volunteer there once a week with Chewbacca and four-foot-tall Liam, her two-year-old Irish wolfhound.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Fleegham\u2019s hope that students in other schools can be given the same opportunity.<\/p>\n

Putman agrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no reason there shouldn\u2019t be a READ program in every school.\u201d<\/p>\n

But before the program can grow, more dogs need to be trained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal here is take away the smoke and mirrors around having a therapy dog,\u201d Putman says. \u201cIt\u2019s not as hard as you think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dog Reading Program by Tristan McIntosh <\/strong><\/p>\n

My name is Tristan McIntosh. I am in Grade 5 and have trouble reading. I take part in the Dog Reading Program to help me read better. The dog reading program is when the dog comes into school and reads with\u00a0kids. Now I will tell you about the dogs. Two dogs come to the school to read. Katie and Dougal. Katie is a great goalie. Kids love Katie and Dougal. Katie is a girl. She has one eye because of glaucoma. Doogal is a funny dog and is a girl too. She likes to role on her tummy. When I read with Katie she puts her head on the ground and her ears up to listen. Doogal puts her head on my leg to listen.<\/p>\n

Anre McIntosh:<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a parent I think the program is fantastic.\u00a0 It helped Tristan with his reading and became an activity that he looked forward to taking part in.\u00a0 I think that most of the credit has to go to Linda, Christine and the other\u2019s who volunteer their time and the dogs themselves who facilitate the learning process for the kids.<\/p>\n

Contact link and steps for becoming a Therapy Dog<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1. <\/em><\/strong>K9care.ca Steps to be a Therapy Dog<\/a> –Training<\/span> starts at any age. Click on this link to start.<\/p>\n

2.<\/em> Therapydogs.com<\/a> <\/strong>– To get the paper work for tests<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0www.pawsitiverewards.ca<\/a> <\/em>– For certification test<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Therapyanimals.org R.E.A.D.<\/a><\/strong> – READ certification<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> Creeksidetherapydogs@shaw.ca<\/a> <\/em><\/strong>– Email ‘BJ’ for R.E.A.D. school introduction paperwork for starting R.E.A.D in a school<\/p>\n

For more information please contact Linda Putman at lin_put@telus.net.<\/p>\n

Back to <\/strong>Stories<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On her regular Friday-morning shift, Katie walks into White Rock Elementary and is greeted by the excited students she has come to help read. She has two associates in tow \u2013 200-pound, three-foot-tall Chewbacca, whose head could compete with the size of most watermelons, and nine-year-old Dougal, who has been known to sit on students […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,34,19,26],"tags":[136,140,124,144],"class_list":["post-2856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animal-companion","category-animal-training","category-children","category-learning","tag-animal-training","tag-animal-wisdom","tag-children","tag-teaching"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":14617,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2856\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thriveinlife.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}