AAAT (Pet Therapy)

Parent: “I just wanted to say ‘Thank You’ for setting up the Paws to Read Program. Our son is truly enjoying the program, making definite efforts to ensure he is able to read the majority of his self-selected story . . . . He has practiced multiple times before coming to Paws and Read. This is a first for him to initiate the need to ’practice.’”

Children’s Librarian: “The dogs increase and expand their comfort level, and I’ve noticed this positively affects them outside the hour they are here. The kids are less inhibited about reading and take more risks. Kids that would not read out loud before are doing so now. Their vocabulary has improved. They are attempting to try and communicate more verbally. They take pride in what they are reading. They are better, for the most part, about sharing and wait patiently for their turn. The students’teachers notice that several children who are reluctant to help others are now doing so.”

Program Coordinator: “One of the most powerful stories about Paws and Think was with a little girl whose mother had died when she was 3 years old. One evening, Paws and Think came to Brooke’s Place and the dog’s owner mentioned that this dog’s mother had recently died. Our girl, now 6, shared with the dog for the first time that her mother had died too. This is very powerful for a child to actually verbalize that his/her loved one has died.”