"WHAT ARE ALL THESE DOGS DOING AT SCHOOL?": Using Therapy Dogs To Promote Children's Reading Practice

Childhood Education, Spring 2005 by Jalongo, Mary Renck

Longitudinal research on R.E.A.D. collected over two school years is promising. The children selected to participate in the studies were identified as being atrisk for academic difficulties by the principal and social worker at Bennion Elementary School in Utah. Two culturally diverse groups of ten 5- to 9-year-olds were assembled and tested; the Reading Roots Assessment was used with kindergartners and 1st-graders and the Success for All test was vised with 2nd- to 6th-graders. Group 1 was tested in September of 2000 and those scores were compared with June 2001 scores. A second group of 10 students was tested in September of 2001 and again in June of 2002. All of the children improved their reading scores significantly. Other indicators of the children's progress included decreased absenteeism, increased use of the library, and improved grades on report cards. Children's positive responses to therapy dogs and reading improvement also have been reported by the editors of American Libraries (2000; 2001), in School Library Journal (Newlin, 2003), and in the media (Bueche, 2003; http://pawsforhealth.org). Evidence is building that therapy animals can motivate children to complete academic tasks (Jalongo, 2004).

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS ON PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

The opportunity to witness children's excitement and enthusiasm as they read with their canine partners often provides the impetus to get a program started. Cheri Finotti is a 1st-grade teacher who became convinced of the power of therapy dogs as she volunteered with Maggie, a chocolate Lab, to work with a boy with Aspergers syndrome. Ordinarily, the child was uncommunicative about what happened each day. In fact, the boy's teacher customarily sent home written prompts that his mother used to encourage her son to talk. After working with Maggie, however, the child spontaneously told his mother about everything that had happened involving the therapy dog. Now that Cheri has retired, her plans are clear: she will devote herself to volunteering with Maggie and supporting children's reading efforts.

If you visited a "read with a dog" program, you might see scenes such as the following:

* A Benji dog look-alike, once living in a shelter and destined for euthanasia, hops out of the van, sporting his therapy dog cape. This dog, several others, and their handlers stop at the visitor's window of the elementary school, and the handlers put on their badges. Moments later, the little dog can be seen seated on the lap of an English language learner who is reading The Last Puppy (Asch, 1989), a picture book about a large litter of pups yearning to find homes. The child is determined to master the book; after she succeeds, the handler gets the dog to twirl on its hind legs in celebration, much to the child's delight.

* Goldie, a laid-back golden retriever with a red bandanna, is paired with her 4th-grade reading buddy. The boy has attentional difficulties; yet, Goldie's habit of resting her head on his knee keeps the boy calm and focused as he strokes her fur while reading. Later that day, the boy checks out three items from the library: Love That Dog (Creech, 2003) and the book and audiocassette of How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend (Monks of New Skete, 2002).