Dogs help children learn to love reading

Kiyren McKee, 7, walked Toby Keith, a volunteer dog, around the room at the Family Resource Center during a program involving children reading to pets. Sitting on the floor was Jerri Pasborg, one of the pet owners who volunteers her dog's time to the program. (Diane L. Wilson) [Click to enlarge]

What do Toby Keith, Freckles and Lucky all have in common?

They are dogs that bond with children at the Family Resource Center's after-school reading program.

"The children cannot wait to read aloud to the dogs," center manager Denise Lincoln said. "The dogs love the attention, and the reward for the children is petting and playing with them after reading."

The dogs are part of a group called Pet Pals, sponsored by the Humane Society. Cats are also Pet Pals.

"They promote goodwill on behalf of the Humane Society," said Laura Hurst, coordinator for Pet Pals.

The pets also give children a chance to learn safety precautions to use around pets they don't know and the importance of the responsibility to spay or neuter pets.

Some of the children were a little reluctant around the dogs at first.

Jasmine Beard, 6, of Cape Girardeau was one of them. Rita Shaffer, a Southeast Missouri State University social work student doing her practicum at the center, said, "At first Jasmine just wanted to look. By the second time she warmed up."

The pets come to the center on Mondays and have been coming since February. After homework and snacks the children have permission to visit the pets upstairs. Jasmine read the book "'Let's Get a Pup' Said Kate" to Freckles. Freckles, a regular at the center, gives Jasmine a reason to select books and get enthused about reading.

Kiyren McKee, 7, gives all the dogs plenty of exercise after he's read to them, but Toby Keith, only two years younger than he is, is a great match for his energy level. A standard poodle, Toby Keith is almost as big as his reading partner. Kiyren, who has a cat at home, said, "It makes coming more fun." He also likes giving the dogs commands and watching them obey.

Merideth Wagner of Cape Girardeau, Toby's owner, said he was trained at K-9 Training Center. "I began going to nursing homes and areas in Saint Francis Hospital about a year and a half ago. It's a way of paying back," she said.

Lucky's owner, Jerri Pasborg of Cape Girardeau, always wanted a dog that helped people. "He was abandoned on our county road. My son saw him tossed out of a car. So I had the idea of a therapy dog from the start." After Lucky passed the AKC good resident certification at K-9 Training Center, Pasborg started bringing him around to Saint Francis Medical Center and nursing homes about once a week.

Pet Pals is a not-for-profit organization operated by volunteer pet owners. For more information, call the Humane Society at 334-5837.