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Maxwell children ‘Read to the Paw’

  • Published
  • By Joy Ovington
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  In the old "Lassie" television series, Timmy and Lassie worked together to help others in their town. Today, when a child is struggling with an important life skill such as reading, sending a four-legged sidekick to help may seem like something seen on the silver screen.

However, special therapy dogs are doing just that - lending a paw to help students gain reading skills and confidence - in Maxwell Elementary School's Pre-Kindergarten through fifth-grade classes, according to Melissa Hayes, Maxwell Elementary School principal.

The dogs visiting the school are part of the "Read to the Paw" program, a volunteer program supported by the Montgomery Humane Society, which helps children improve their literacy by reading to certified therapy dogs, Ms. Hayes said. "The whole idea is to get the children to practice reading."

Reading aloud is important in a child's development of literacy, Ms. Hayes said. Children with reading difficulties may struggle with reading aloud in front of peers and adults because they fear being made fun of and criticized.

"It allows the children to practice their fundamental reading skills of phonemic awareness, phonics, phrasing, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension," Ms. Hayes said.

The main objective of the "Read to the Paw" program is to provide a relaxed and "dog-friendly" atmosphere, Ms. Hayes said. By sitting down next to a dog and reading to the dog, all threats of being judged are put aside. The child relaxes, pats the attentive dog and focuses on the reading. Reading improves because the child is practicing the skill of reading, building self-esteem and associating reading with something pleasant.

Mary Hughes, who is the handler of Harvey, a golden retriever used in the reading program, says that the dogs enhance children's self-esteem.

"They don't judge or threaten; they just listen and watch children read their first words and most likely embrace you with kisses when your performance is over," said Ms. Hughes, who is also humane education coordinator at the Montgomery Humane Society.

A good "Read to the Paw" dog is, first of all, a registered and tested therapy animal that has met rigorous temperament, obedience, health, and hygiene requirements, Ms. Hughes said.

She explained that the dogs are screened for skills and temperament, health and cleanliness, good manners and attitude. They must inspire confidence and trust in the people around them. They should be calm and reliable, obedient, and impeccably groomed to be attractive and fun to touch and stroke. They should also enjoy children and like curling up on the floor with them to hear stories.

Harvey and Ms. Hughes have been regular fixtures in the Maxwell Elementary classrooms since November.

Ms. Hughes believes that in the presence of a therapy dog, children who were struggling with reading "would be able to relax and not worry about peer-pressure; be able to focus on their reading, and find reading fun, which would result in improved reading scores, improved self-esteem, and more smiles on the children's faces."