Furry friends make excellent reading partners
9:04 p.m. Monday, January 7, 2008
Sophie is a trained therapy dog. She and her owner, Kathy Schlotterbeck, have been specially trained, tested, evaluated and registered with the Delta Society, an organization that promotes human health through the use of service animals.
Insured in their volunteer work, Kathy and Sophie are active in the Reading Education Assistance Dogs program, or READ. For the last year, Kathy and Sophie have been regular visitors at the library and schools. While there, children will read to Sophie. Sophie is a very good listener as the children cuddle up with her, pet her and read to her.
Sophie never tries to correct the children, which helps the readers to have such patient and uncritical audience. Reading to pets has been found to be beneficial for shy or nervous children who would have a problem reading out loud to their peers or adults. They can read to Sophie without fear of criticism or embarrassment. Many children can read quite well, but are hesitant to read out loud because they've been corrected so much. By reading to Sophie, or their own pets at home, these children gain confidence and an enjoyment of reading.
Sophie is very well-behaved, due in part to the work she and Kathy have done with trainers in town, and lots of practice at home.
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