Getting a big boost

Canine reading program receives $5K grant

The national nonprofit Doris Day Animal Foundation has awarded a $5,000 grant to the Oakland Park-based Canine Assisted Therapy, which uses dogs to help improve reading skills for local students.

The group has been using dogs in therapeutic situations since its founding in 2009. Organizers deploy pets through South Florida school systems, helping kindergarten-age children learn to read and improve reading skills.

“We knew [Canine Assisted Therapy] had high standards,” said LuAnn Smith, a foundation grant evaluator. “We received a generous donation from someone who said, ‘We want it to go to children in education. And strengthen the dogs’ part.’ … We thought they would be a natural.”

The program’s dogs and their owners are volunteers, said Courtney Trzcinski, director of program support. The grant will be used to pay for the evaluation of the dogs, plus insuring the animals and volunteers. Currently, 130 dogs are on the organization’s roster, she said.

“They’re people’s pets,” Trzcinski said. “Their owners want to share them. So they come to us, and we see if the dogs have the right temperament.”

“Students need to practice their reading skills, and what better way is there than by offering them a patient ear?” said Dot Bevins, teacher at Riverglades Elementary School in Parkland. “The dogs are trained to do that — to listen.”

So once a week Jesse — part golden retriever, part poodle —

“comes into the room and the children grab their book boxes and go read with Jesse,” Bevins said. “Their reading scores have improved since Jesse began stopping by.”

Trzcinski added, “It works because children reading in front of humans will worry about making mistakes. But reading in front of a dog, they don’t have that apprehension. They’re not nervous, they read more fluently, [and] their self-confidence starts to build.”

For more information, visit Catdogs.org.