Children Read to Dogs in the Library

Children’s librarians are always looking for ways to encourage children to read.  That’s our job.  We purchase the hottest new titles and those recommended by the experts.  We offer summer reading programs, winter reading programs and story time programs.  The theme that ties all these together is our desire to inspire children to read.  Is there another way we can try? Well, we could ask children if they would like to read a story to a dog.  It turns out this can be a good way to help children develop their reading skills.

Animals have been used for centuries to aid individuals in the healing process.  It is reported that the ancient Greeks used horses to lift the spirits of the severely ill.  Florence Nightingale, in the 1880s, observed that small pets reduced the levels of anxiety and stress in adult and youth psychiatric patients.  Also in the 1880s, Sigmund Freud used his dog, JoFi, to calm his young anxiety patients.  Freud, often referred to as the father of psychoanalysis, gave legitimacy to the use of animals in therapy.  This could be called the birth of therapy dogs in the age of modern science.  In the 1940s, the American Red Cross developed a program where veterans suffering from injury or illness could take care of farm animals to further their recovery.

In 1999, an organization called Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ) was created in Salt Lake City, Utah.  READ dogs are trained, registered and certified therapy animals who serve as classroom reading tutors, assisting children with their quiet presence and helping them develop a love of reading. Currently 1,300 therapy teams are working in schools and libraries across the country.  Parents, teachers and librarians have seen the benefits of this program and have started programs of their own.

In our area we have a volunteer organization called Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs.  They evaluate, test, train and qualify owners as therapy dog teams.  These dogs visit hospitals, nursing homes, disaster areas, and much more.  Now they also visit libraries.

Several libraries in the Mercer County Library System offer programs where children can read to a licensed therapy dog.  The West Windsor Branch and Hopewell Branch both have a program called “Read to Sarah the Reading Dog;” the Ewing Branch has “Read to Breezy, the Therapy Dog;” the Hickory Corner Branch offers “Reading to the Therapy Dog.”  Visit our website to find out more about these programs.  It is one more way to encourage your child to read, and a fun way too!

Books:

Therapy Dogs   by Joyce L. Markovics 

R.E.A.D. Dogs   by Miesh Goldish

Lola Goes to Work: [A Nine-to-Five Therapy Dog]   by Marcia Goldman

Websites:  http://www.golden-dogs.org/

Sarah the Reading Dog

- Susan F., West Windsor Branch