School enlists therapy dogs to help children read

Owning a dog is said to help with everything from reducing stress to imrproving sleep, so it’s no wonder that animal-assisted therapy has grown in popularity over the past few years, as an alternative to more traditional methods.

For one Brooklyn-based parent-run group, our canine friends are more than morning-walk companions – they can also lend a furry ( and non-judgmental) ear to children learning to read.

Students at PS 107 in Park Slopes, Brooklyn, are spending mornings at a neighbourhood book store, practising their reading skills with therapy dogs from The Good Dog Foundation

“The whole idea behind it is that kids who might be hesitant or just learning how to read don’t feel embarrassed when they’re trying to help the dogs hear the story,” Katherine Eban, the co-chair and founder of The Beast Relief, told The Huffington Post. The Beast Relief is a parent-teacher group at PS 107, focused on promoting animal appreciation.

Eban told The New York Post earlier this year she got the idea for the reading sessions from similar events held at a library in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The idea has caught on across the continent, and for good reason.

“Some children feel anxious about reading in front of other students,” Alexandra Fine, communications associate for Good Dog told The New York Post. “Dogs patiently listen as students practice their skills … [It] makes reading enjoyable and fun, instead of scary.”

The Good Dog Foundation is a charitable organization based on the east coast of the United States. Their education division focuses enlisting therapy dogs to help with reading, anti-bullying, and autism.

[Photo from The Good Dog Foundation]