For one Saturday a month over the past two and one-half years, the Blackwell Regional Library has held the Reading to Dogs program, a chance for local children of all ages to read aloud to local therapy dogs.
The dogs, Gus and Dandie, have been approved by Therapy Dogs International, which allows them to visit in schools, hospitals and libraries.
Nani Manion, the head of Blackwell’s Children’s Department, discussed the program during the dogs’ monthly visit.
“I heard about the program years ago, just through library journals. Then I happened to witness it one time. I was at a library in Florida and it was with this giant akita, and akitas are not always super kid-friendly. I realized that this giant akita was reading with a 10-year-old boy I and thought, ‘Wow, this could work,’” Manion said.
The program at Blackwell came about after Manion discussed the idea with one of her neighbors, Nancy Lewis. Lewis presented the idea to Christina Bach, who she had met at Penn Vet Hospital while Bach was running a pet bereavement program. After Bach suggested that Lewis test her dog through Therapy Dogs International, the two began to visit Park Pleasant, a Walnut Hill nursing home, together with their dogs.
Bach owns Gus, a 10-year-old beagle, and Lewis owns Dandie, a 4-year-old corgi. Bach has been a member of Therapy Dogs International since 2008 and is also a service worker in the area. She used to work at Penn Vet, and coordinated the therapy visitation program at Ronald McDonald House. Lewis and Dandie previously spent time volunteering at Bryn Mawr Hospital, and the four volunteered during finals week at Penn, offering students a study break with the dogs.
“I actually used to see dogs in hospitals and think, ‘Oh, I wish I could do that someday.’ And I’m just not a dog trainer, I wasn’t in 4H, I didn’t do any of that,” Lewis said. “But I went to obedience training, and she passed. She does pretty well; when I put the kerchief on Dandie, she knows that it’s work and she calms down.”
This past weekend the dogs arrived one at a time and settled into the Art Room in Blackwell’s Children’s Department. Manion helped the children form a line outside of the door, so they could file into the room individually or in pairs.
“They get excited; I have to work to keep the kids in line waiting,” Manion said. “They’re really excited about it; it’s something they look forward to. Instead of sometimes fighting over the computers, the kids are pushing to see who gets to read to the dogs next.”
Each child was allowed anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to read with one of the dogs, who would sit or lay by their side. The books ranged from simple picture books to more advanced books, such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Lewis and Bach sat nearby to help the children get through difficult words or sentences, and teach the children about how to safely and humanely approach a dog.
“I’ve definitely seen kids improve with their reading, and just with their comfort level,” Bach said. “The humane education side of it, in terms of how we talk to them about how to approach dogs, how to be near dogs, and what they may be afraid of. I think that’s important. Some of these kids we’ve been seeing read for a couple of years now, and it’s really been neat to watch them grow up and see how they improve. And I like to think we’ve had something to do with that.”
Lewis agreed. “A child who might be self-conscious may not be self-conscious in front of the dogs; the dogs are therapeutic because they don’t feel judged by the dogs.”
Though both Lewis and Bach like to keep things simple for their dogs, they have plans for the future. Bach works at Presbyterian Hospital and is trying to find a way to work therapy dogs into the cancer treatment program.
“Patients have been really receptive to the idea of having a canine hang out with them during their chemo, they think it would be really relaxing,” Bach said. “So we’re working on starting that.”
Lewis, who has an MFA in painting, said she hopes to write and illustrate a children’s book on the experience of working with a therapy dog. For now, both women enjoy the chance to visit the children’s department at Blackwell every month. “I look forward to this day each month,” Bach said. “It feels very meaningful to me, very meaningful that I can share her with other people,” Lewis said.
A pretty good iniciative. It is amazing how children can reduce strees with the animals. We should think about other ways to help children like this one.