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Kids sharpen reading skills with therapy dogs

New Carlisle Public Library holds monthlong program

Barbara J. Perenic Kara Danner (left), 14, and Ryan McKenzie, 17, take turns reading from "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein with the company of DogTors pet therapy team Linda and Jewel Conway during an open reading session at the New Carlisle Public Library on Monday, June 15. Staff photos by Barbara J. Perenic

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Rachel Moore, 14, reacts after getting a kiss from Pop Tart, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, one of three DogTors pet therapy teams on hand during an open reading session at the New Carlisle Public Library.

Barbara J. Perenic Rachel Moore, 14, reacts after getting a kiss from Pop Tart, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, one of three DogTors pet therapy teams on hand during an open reading session at the New Carlisle Public Library.

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By Emanuel Cavallaro, Staff Writer 10:52 PM Monday, June 15, 2009

NEW CARLISLE – Donovan Davis uttered each word with care, sometimes repeating it.

The diffident 10-year-old, who sported more than a few mosquito bites on his legs and arms, undertook a brave but difficult slog through three picture books, on Monday, June 15, as a mixed black Retriever named Raven lay curled up on the floor at his feet. Raven’s owner, a Navistar retiree named Bruce Jacobson, offered occasional help.

The nice thing about reading aloud to a dog is the dog won’t make fun of you if you mispronounce or otherwise stumble over an unfamiliar word.

“(Children) are sometimes more comfortable reading to an animal than an adult,” said Jacobson.

That’s more or less the reasoning behind the program on Mondays this month at the New Carlisle Public Library, when trained therapy dogs — advertised as “non-judgmental canine companions”— will be on hand in the children’s library. According to Children’s Librarian Maggie Bollar, the library has been doing this every summer for five or six years. The goal is to build confidence.

“Statistics show that kids who are behind in their reading, fall even further behind during the summer,” said Bolla. “When they start school, if they haven’t read at least six books, they could actually start school with a deficit.”

This month, dogs will make two appearances each Monday, in the afternoons between 1 and 2 p.m. and then in the evenings, between 6:30 and 7:30. The turnout (of dogs and children) tends to be more impressive earlier in the day, but the evenings are still louder and more hairy than one is likely to find at most public libraries.

When Davis had finished reading, Bollar gave him a book that represented a far more ambitious challenge than the books he’d read that day, a Harry Potter novel. Davis said he would probably wait until school resumed before beginning it.

Morgan Wheeler, 11, that night read to a Welsh Corgi named Poptart, who she said appeared distracted.

“Kinda felt like I was reading by myself, Wheeler said. “She listened to me sometimes, like when she got on my lap, but she understood only half the story.”

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