My youngest daughter has trouble reading, as a matter of
fact, if you asked her to read you a book she would tell you that she
couldn’t. Of course that is not true,
but she does have trouble with reading.
In an effort to help her with this, we signed her up for a class at the
Preston Library “Paws 4 Stories” which is an 8 week programme that provides
children an opportunity to read to service dogs.
The service dogs and their handlers patiently listen to
these children and help them read their stories. The dogs love the attention and are
non-judgemental souls who provide silent encouragement to frustrated and
defeated readers. The programme is
amazing and it helped Megan on so many levels.
Her reading confidence improved.
She looked forward to reading to Whisper (Sheppard cross), Jazzy
(Portuguese water dog) or Mushi anticipating which one she would be assigned. She met other children who had trouble reading
and she made some new friends.
They even had a graduation ceremony on the last night. Of course I had my camera with me and offered
to send the library and the St. John’s Ambulance Therapy Dogs folks copies of
the digital copies. (Note: waivers had been signed for the children to
be photographed.) “Marketing girl” had
kicked in to high gear and I offered to provide a testimonial on the benefits
of the programme that they could use on their website or in an article for the
local paper. The photos might be useful on their websites,
promotional material or in electronic presentations. Both organizations were so happy to have
someone offer to help them promote their programmes without having to beg,
plead or recruit. For me, it was great
to give back after receiving the benefits of the programme. Marketing girl strikes again!
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