Kids read to man’s best friend

Dogs are called man’s best friend. They’ll grab the morning paper, play catch in the park and become a soft pillow or foot warmer after a long day.

They have also been proven to raise children’s test scores.

Since 2003, Monroe County Humane Association’s VIPaws has brought certified therapy dogs and their owners to participate in Animal Reading Friends at the Monroe County Public Library and the Ellettsville branch once a month.

The dogs join children while they read, said Sarah DeLone, education program director of MCHA.

On the first Saturday of every month, the Ellettsville branch holds a drop-in time when children, generally pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade, select a book and a dog to read to.

At each reading session, the number of children varies from eight to 30, DeLone said.      

Sometimes if it is busy, children will wait in line for the three to four dogs that come. Often a child’s goal is to read to each dog in the room, Ellettsville branch librarian Stephanie Holman said.

Each dog has its own laminated bookmark that children can keep and collect. Each one has the dog’s name, breed and some fun facts about tricks the dog does or activities it likes to do, Holman said.

Holman said ideally children would be in a quiet room alone with the dog and the dog’s owner, so no one would be around to judge them. However, the group setting can often work out just as well.

“Something magical happens, like a bubble forms over the child and the dog and they don’t notice anything else,” Holman said. “You’ll see the child reach out their little hand to pet the dog. It’s so great.”

A study conducted by Reading Education Assistance Dogs between 2000 and 2002 found that in addition to improved reading scores, results show teachers also noticed decreased student absenteeism and improved self-confidence and self-esteem.

“Their (children’s) heart rate slows, their breathing slows and that’s where fluency develops,” Holman said. “It’s all about building confidence.”

The dogs that are used and their owners go through a training process to become certified therapy dog teams before they are brought to the children.
 
The next ARF program will be 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Ellettsville branch
library.

“My favorite part is looking in the room and seeing the different human heads and dog heads bent over a book, each in their own way appreciating literature and enjoying it,” Holman said.