CAZENOVIA — This fall, the Cazenovia Public Library & Museum (CPL) introduced a reading program that uses therapy dogs to increase children’s desire and ability to read.
Through the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program, children have the chance to read aloud to an animal to help improve their reading and communication skills.
R.E.A.D. dogs are trained, tested, registered, liability-insured therapy animals who volunteer with their owners as a team, visiting schools, libraries, and other settings as reading companions and literacy mentors.
Smooth-coated collie Alexander and his owner/handler Jane LaSure visit CPL on the third Tuesday of the month, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Individual appointments can also be made by contacting CPL Youth Services Coordinator Jenna Wright-Martin at [email protected] or calling the library at 315-655-9322.
“Learning to read is often less about intellect than overcoming fears,” said LaSure in a CPL press release announcing the program. “Dogs are proven to help increase relaxation, lower blood pressure, and do not correct or set a pace. Reading becomes an anticipated adventure rather than a scholastic experience. The handler is also educated in being a facilitator, shifting performance pressure off the child while guiding [the] child and dog in a productive environment.”
According to Wright-Martin, CPL’s R.E.A.D. program operates on a first-come, first-served basis.
“The ideal group size is one to four,” added LaSure. “If more than four show [up] for a session, some can pull books while we work with others.”
LaSure brings books with her to each session and Wright-Martin pulls a variety of books from CPL’s collection. Children are also invited to bring books they are reading at home.
Wright-Martin explained that the library staff helps young readers take turns with Alexander to get individual reading time. For those who are not yet reading independently, wordless picture books are provided so the children can describe the pictures/create their own stories.
“Alexander’s calm nature and adorableness help all the adults blend into the background and gives the young reader a really special experience with a non-judgmental listener helping to build their confidence and enjoyment of reading,” said Wright-Martin.
LaSure said she realized Alexander’s potential as a therapy dog with the help of Catherine Perry of Paws Please Dog Training in East Eaton, NY.
“I acquired Alexander as a two-year-old and enrolled him in her second-level class so we could get to know each other,” LaSure recalled. “Ms. Perry has extensive experience and suggested that he would excel at therapy work. The R.E.A.D. program had great appeal because it included my three passions: linguistics, working with animals, and witnessing the confidence the right animal gives to children.”
To become officially registered with R.E.A.D., LaSure and Alexander were first required to earn their American Kennel Club (AKC) Good Citizen Title, which qualified them to train to be an Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD) candidate. Upon ATD certification, Alexander was qualified to become a R.E.A.D. dog once LaSure passed the coursework.
During the school year prior to the COVID-19 closures, LaSure and Alexander were invited to read with first graders in the Hamilton Central School District.
“He was pretty excited when the bell rang and we all piled into the hallways,” said LaSure. “That was a true test of his therapy training.”
In addition to visiting libraries and schools, LaSure and Alexander also stop by memory centers, retirement homes, and children’s centers to engage one-on-one with the residents.
“Very often, the activities directors at these locations know who might [want a visit most],” said LaSure. “I’m astounded at the amount of conversation we elicit from people who are otherwise not conversant.”
Alexander, whose AKC registered name is “CH Travler’s Just You Wait,” is also a champion show dog.
According to LaSure, his breeder, Bree Ardizzone is a big fan of the musical “Hamilton,” so she named Alexander and his littermates after songs and people in the show.
A highlight of Alexander’s showing career was earning his championship title as an AKC collie while competing in New York, Illinois, and Connecticut.
“It’s a big circuit involving stiff competition and a lot of locations,” said LaSure. “He competed in AKC through 2018. Higher levels — grand championship — would have involved an even larger commitment and extended travels. He still competes with me on occasion with the United Kennel Club, where he earned a coveted Reserve Best-In-Show (Altered) at the Upstate Kennel Club Show in Lancaster, NY under Judge Felicity Trammel of Lewiston, TX on May 7, 2022.”
CPL will host its third R.E.A.D. session on Tuesday, Dec. 20.
“It is gaining momentum and I am grateful to them for their support of the R.E.A.D. program,” said LaSure. “Everyone likes to see him.”
The R.E.A.D. program was launched in November 1999 by Intermountain Therapy Animals (ITA), a non-profit organization founded in Salt Lake City in 1993.
According to the ITA website, thousands of registered R.E.A.D. teams now work throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico and 24 other European, Asian, Central American, and South American countries.
For more information, visit therapyanimals.org.