Partners In Rhyme.
Paws for Reading is part of the Carolina Canines for Therapy program, where therapy dogs help children struggling to improve their reading and communication skills. We partner with Reading Education Assistance Dogs® (R.E.A.D.®), an Intermountain Therapy Animals program to bring the program into local schools.
For children with poor reading capabilities, reading aloud to a group can be intimidating. Paws for Reading dogs serve as reading tutors, assisting children with their quiet presence and helping them develop a love of reading in a judgment-free environment.
Since its inception in September 2002, Carolina Canines for Therapy has provided Paws for Reading services to almost 400 children in New Hanover County schools and more than 500 children through library programs and community activities. And 83% of children who have participated in Paws for Reading have improved their reading capabilities.
Benefits
Our dogs not only improve children’s reading skills, they also:
- Boost a child’s self-esteem
- Motivate and support children as they practice reading aloud in the company of the dog and with the support of the dog’s handler
- Maintain focus, decrease school absenteeism and increase task persistence
- Develop a foundation for lifelong learning
- Help reduce a child’s blood pressure and heart rate, helping nervous readers relax and focus
- Promote an additional way animals can make a positive difference in children’s lives
- Teach pet responsibility
