Can something as simple as a dog nearby make reading fun for kids?
Judging by the wagging tails of two black labs and smiling faces of five Miller Park elementary school children, that answer would be yes.
School District 43 is partnering with the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society, and volunteers, to bring the Animal Ambassadors for Reading Fun (AARF) program into the Coquitlam school and so far, says principal Lisa Rinke, the program is making a big difference.
You are always looking for that special thing that will motivate them on that day
“They’re here and the kids are counting on it,” said Rinke, who first invited volunteers with their PADS dogs into the school three years ago to work with children with reading challenges.
Once a week Leslie Vanstone, a vet with the Burquitlam Animal Hospital, and Tricia Korner, a speech and language pathologist, bring in their dogs, Buffet and Eme, to sit with the children while they read aloud.
Both Vanstone and Korner said they’ve noticed a change in the children they work with each week. They are more confident and reading has become an event, not just a chore, they said.
“They think they are reading to the dog,” said Vanstone.
Buffet is a five-year-old black lab that immediately lays down beside the children, passively quiet as one child reads and the other picks at his fur. Joshua Belonio barely stops to catch his breath as he reads a comic graphic novel quickly and competently.
In another room, Korner’s dog Eme, a black lab that didn’t pass its PADS test but still is a working dog, is gamely playing with the children, doing tricks in exchange for a treat.
“I let them hold her leash, it gives them confidence,” Korner said, adding that Eme is excited, too, to come to the school.
Rinke said research has shown that reading assistance dogs help reduce stress among non-readers and encourages self-regulating behaviour among chidren with problems focusing.
Although she had to deal with issues such as fear of dogs and allergies at the outset, Rinke said neither has been a problem at the school once accommodations were made. What the dogs do, she said, is elevate the mood in the school and make everyone happy.“You are always looking for that special thing that will motivate them on that day,” Rinke commented.
And for Miller Park, it’s these well-behaved PADS dogs and the AARF program that seems to be doing the trick.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
The Pacific Assistance Dog Society trains dogs to assist in various roles, including service dogs for people with physical disabilities, hearing dogs for the deaf and hard of hearing and Canine Assistance Dogs (CAI) for professionals, such as teachers, nurses, police officers and others who work with people in challenging situations.
Executive director Laura Watamanuk said increasing numbers of CAI dogs in the community are helping children and adults improve their physical, social, emotional or cognitive functioning. PADS dogs are specially bred dogs, mostly labs and golden retrievers, and are trained for up to two years, along with their handlers. After training, the dogs are assessed to determine the best career path for them.
PADS has 86 dogs in service and 109 puppies in training across Western Canada.
