Therapy dogs provide a rapt audience for kids working to gain confidence in reading skills
Emily Rosato has read up on a whole host of little-known facts about dogs.
They hear twice as many frequencies as people. They have more tastebuds than cats. And dog fur? Well, here's what 9-year-old Emily can tell you about that. '''Dog fur has a big job,''' she read aloud earlier this week from a book about canines at the Parkland Community Library. '''It's good for insulation [and] skin protection.'''
Her audience, a pretty blonde named Corbi, would have agreed if she could communicate in English. Instead, the golden retriever just sat and listened, genial aside from a bit of errant drool as Emily continued reading to her. Emily and Corbi were two of the inaugural participants at the Parkland library's program to encourage youngsters to practice their ripening literacy skills by reading out loud to specially trained dogs.
Emily, who admits reading isn't normally her favorite thing to do, said she enjoyed reading to Corbi far more than she likes reading to herself. ''I think it's more fun,'' the Upper Macungie girl said, ''and the dogs are really nice.''
That's the whole point.
Parkland has joined a list of local libraries, including branches in Bethlehem and Bucks County, that are helping kids improve their reading skills by setting them up with certified therapy dogs which are trained to stay calm as listeners.
Librarians say the programs help improve literacy in part because children aren't afraid of embarrassment when reading to dogs. ''This really does encourage those kids that are just a little shy about reading out loud, because the dogs are totally nonjudgmental; there's just unlimited love there,'' said Karen Maurer, youth services coordinator at the Parkland library. ''If you miss a word, they don't care.''
Reading out loud is important for youngsters who are still mastering their letters, said Suzanne Chaply, who ran last week's reading program. When kids read silently, they can skip over words they don't know and figure out what the sentence means by considering later words. When someone reads out loud, though, Chaply said they're forced to sound out words they don't know, which helps them add to their vocabulary.
The Parkland library has tried having kids read aloud to various other audiences, including stuffed animals, over the years. Reading to dogs has spurred more interest than any of those previous programs, though, Chaply said. More than 30 kids showed up Wednesday night, and she's expecting similar turnout as the program continues each Wednesday this month. ''It is such a draw,'' she said.
Various therapy dog groups have sent canines, along with their handlers, to local libraries for such programs. The Wednesday night sessions at the Parkland library drew members of the Greater Lehigh Therapy Dogs, Chapter 140 of Therapy Dogs International.
To qualify to be an official therapy dog, the canines must be a year old, know basic obedience commands, and demonstrate that they are comfortable with strangers, among other tests. Therapy dogs are perhaps more known for visiting local hospitals and nursing homes to offer companionship, but human members of Greater Lehigh Valley group said their dogs also enjoy spending time with kids. ''She enjoys the attention and being petted,'' said Melinda Peters of Allentown, who is Corbi's handler.
The kids enjoyed it, too. Mari and Megan Gangl, 7-year-old twin sisters from Upper Macungie, each got a turn reading to a dog last week. Mari read several pages from a kids' novel titled ''Cam Jansen and the Green School Mystery'' to an amiable beagle named Belle, while Megan regaled a well-groomed mixed breed named Sandy with a section from ''The Big Book of Girl Stuff'' about hair.
Megan admitted she stumbled over a word or two while reading, including the word ''dramatically.'' (As in ''styling with a haircut and dye can change a girl's look dramatically.'' Sandy let loose neither bark nor whimper to indicate whether she agreed with that assessment.)
Still, Megan said, reading to dogs such as Sandy ''is really fun, because they're really cute.''
Meanwhile, Megan and Mari's dad, Mark Gangl, left the Parkland library thinking over the possibility of having his girls read aloud to Emma, the family's 2-year-old border collie, on a regular basis. ''Anything that gets them to read more is a great idea as far as I'm concerned,'' he said.
Brian Callaway
5 July 2009
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-online1x94a.6950789jul05,0,7787286.story
