PRESCHOOLERS GET VISIT FROM PET PALS DOGS

As soon as the large brown dog came into the classroom, Cody Scott started talking. He talked about this dog named Boody, his own dog, his relatives' dogs, he talked to the dog, its owner and the children around him.

This steady stream of comments wouldn't be unusual for most 3-year-olds, but Cody, a student at the Easter Seals Early Education Center, doesn't usually say much, said Elizabeth Merideth, a speech pathologist and director of special services at the center.

Merideth was pleased at the excitement and interaction created by the visit to the center's 3-year-old class from Boody and two other dogs in the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri's Pet Pals program.

Matthew Moyers kept slapping his thigh with his hand, the American Sign Language symbol for "puppy" as he pointed at Boody, a bull mastiff, which at about 2 1/2 feet tall, could look Matthew in the eye and probably weighed at least twice as much as the child.

"Matthew knew the sign for puppy, but getting him to sign in class is different from when he does it spontaneously like this," Merideth said. "It shows he really does know that sign."

Pet Pals volunteer Laura Hurst, who brought her basset hounds, Sadie and Abbey, to the class, said the dogs in the program do tend to draw a response from people of all ages.

Hurst often takes her dogs to nursing homes. She said the dogs often connect to people in ways humans do not.

The dogs in the Pet Pals program all have been through obedience training.

Then they are tested to make sure they have the temperament suited to visit the elderly and young children, Hurst said.

There were a few children who hung back, not sure about getting close to these animals.

With a little gentle coaxing from a teacher, one boy approached Sadie, tentatively extended his hand and stroked her fur.

A wide smile spread across his face. It got even wider when Sadie turned and gave him a lick on the hand.

"Most dogs just don't have the temperaments for this, even those, that make perfectly good family pets," said Hurst.

She watched while a noisy group of children petted and hugged the dogs, then squealed with delight when the dogs licked their hands.

"It takes a special animal to allow children and the elderly to interact with them," she said.