Reading practice makes purr-fect for both shy children and critters
STOCKTON — Eight-yearold Karlie Seifert really likes kittens.
And who doesn’t? They’re soft, cuddly and adorable. Seifert likes kittens so much, the Julia Morgan Elementary School student wears a tie-dye dress with kittens printed all over it.
Kittens also make good reading companions, something that won’t judge a young child who is building their vocabulary as they move on to read more complex books. It was only natural for Seifert to spend an hour on Saturday to read to felines who are available for adoption.
“I get really nervous when I’m around reading to adults,” said Karlie as she softly read paragraphs from “Maybe a Fox” by Kathi Appelt to a 1year-old black and white cat.
She joined five other kids at the Stockton Animal Shelter for “Book Tails,” an hourlong reading program that welcomes children to practice their reading skills and interact with some of the shelter’s animals.
It’s a program that is gaining momentum, shelter volunteer coordinator Nicole Schafer said. They hope to expand the program to alternate between dogs and cats each month.
Children’s books were donated by the Cesar Chavez and Lisa libraries and while it promotes literacy and better human readers, the program is also helpful for the animals.
“It’s a completely nonjudgmental environment,” Schafer said. “We want our animals to know that people are positive, and that’s not always the case from where they came from, so by having a positive interaction with them, we’re trying to get them to associate with people positively.”
Last year, the shelter took in 11,000 animals ranging from dogs, cats, farm animals and other wildlife. Many of them eventually find their forever homes, or are moved to foster homes and sanctuaries throughout the county, statewide and across the nation.
The kids are given a small bag of treats and were also instructed by Schafer on how to recognize feline body language.
Some of the cats that were read to on Saturday are from families affected by the pallet and Mayfair apartment fires, and are staying at the shelter until their owners can relocate.
Putting people in front of kennels helps the animals get used to human interaction and less likely they will be hiding in the back of the kennel, thus increasing chances for adoption, said Schafer
“By reading to them, it shows that people aren’t bad,” she told the group of children. “You have a really important role and I’m very happy you can be a part of it.”
Ellerth Larson Elementary School student Jason Fray read “The Bad Guys: Mission Unpluckable” by Aaron Blabey to a gray kitten, at times pressing book illustrations up to the cage of the kennel as the kitten slept peacefully.
He agreed that while his reading skills are good, he feels relaxed around this kind of furry audience.
“Yeah, because it is an animal and not a human it’s easier to read to,” the 9-year-old said.
The Stockton Animal Shelter has waived adoption fees on all animals through today. Dogs and cats will be spayed and neutered, microchipped, licensed and given up-to-date on vaccinations.
The shelter is open from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesdays; it is closed on Mondays.