R.E.A.D. - Reading Education Assistance Dogs

Research with therapy animals indicates that children with low self-esteem are often more willing to interact with an animal than another person. There are also physiological benefits to interacting with animals, including increased relaxation and lower blood pressure. The premise of the R.E.A.D. program is that children will find reading to an animal less intimidating, a special time for them that is helpful, fun and will become a positive environment in which learning is facilitated.

The mission of the R.E.A.D. program is to improve the literacy skills of children through the assistance of registered Pet Partner® therapy teams as literacy mentors.

The scope of the R.E.A.D. program is to demonstrate how registered therapy dogs and their handlers can be instrumental in improving the literacy skills of children in an effective, unique and, most importantly, fun manner. Literacy specialists acknowledge that children who are below their peers in reading skills are often intimidated by reading aloud in a group, often have lower self-esteem, and view reading as a chore. The intent of the R.E.A.D. program is to have children read to the therapy animals.

The focus of the reading will be age-appropriate books with animal themes. The Intermountain Therapy Animals Pet Partner teams will provide books that are "pawtographed" by the therapy animals for the children to read. As they advance to the next level of reading, a "pawtographed" book for that level will be given to the child to keep. R.E.A.D. programs can be implemented in elementary schools, preschools, after-school latchkey programs, healthcare facilities, local libraries and even in a child's home.

For more information about R.E.A.D., please contact Sue Loessberg at (915)532-6971 Ext. 7 or sloessberg@humanesocietyelpaso.org