When it’s time for reading in an Oak Forest Library literacy improvement program, a golden retriever named Mattie is all ears.Children take turns reading out loud at Acorn Public Library to the 2-year-old certified therapy dog as part of READ, or Reading Education Assistance Dogs. The aim is for pupils to gain confidence and boost their reading skills.
“It was fun because the dog was actually listening to the stories all the kids were reading,” said Caitrin Voris, 9, of Crestwood.
Children with poor reading skills often lack self-confidence, literary specialists say, while dogs offer unconditional love and a supportive environment in which to read.
Debbie Tomasik of Oak Forest, Mattie’s owner, proposed the program to Julia Churchill, youth services librarian at Acorn Library, this summer after hearing about READ, a program of Intermountain Therapy Animals, an animal-assisted therapy organization in Salt Lake City.
An animal lover herself, Churchill was delighted with the idea and the library offered a six-week program last summer. It has been continued monthly because of its popularity The program, which may be the first in Illinois, was observed recently by Maureen Scott, who teaches pre-kindergartners at Spaulding School in Midlothian. She then invited Tomasik and her dog to participate in the school’s literacy program where public officials will read to children in the next few weeks.
Margaret Voris, Caitrin’s mom, said her daughter had struggled with reading but now is performing at her 4th-grade level. Caitrin is enthusiastic enough about sessions with Mattie that the program probably would have helped her sooner had it been available, Voris said.
“She was a little resistant at first,” said Voris of her daughter reading in front of a group. “But I went upstairs and when I came back, she was sitting there reading away,” during a recent Bedtime Storytime with Mattie.
That’s the type of progress the program’s founder, Sandi Martin, of Salt Lake City, said she has noticed in other children. Martin, a critical-care nurse and literacy volunteer, has introduced the program to schools and libraries in Salt Lake City and said it is used in about a dozen other states.
Martin came up with the idea after noticing the large number of physically and emotionally challenged children who lack self-confidence and are boosted by the support of therapy dogs.
“They have low self-esteem and they’re very intimidated,” said Martin about children who have trouble reading. “What you see is they are able to relax and focus on the task at hand. They start to find it’s fun and their self-esteem climbs.”
For the bedtime program, Mattie was dressed in her owner’s pajamas as Churchill read a handful of children’s books about dogs. She lay down next to Marissa Burns, 7, of Oak Forest, who was holding a doll wearing turquoise silk pajamas, and took turns licking Marissa’s face and the doll’s.
“Hey Mattie, don’t you want to see the book,” said Churchill. “You’re not listening very well today, Mattie.”
Kids also made dog bookmarks and afterward watched Mattie do tricks, such as fetching a glove that Tomasik hid and leaving two dog treats on her paws until she was given the command “OK.”
Tomasik takes Mattie to a Dog Scouts of America camp in St. Helen, Mich., each summer to brush up on her training. She is certified through Therapy Dogs International and also has visited area nursing homes and S.E. Gross Middle School in Brookfield, where Tomasik teaches 6th graders with special needs.
“I’m very fortunate to work in a district that supports this program and allows me to bring her to school on a regular basis,” said Tomasik, who introduced the program to the District 95 school board last year.
