Promoting Humane Education Through Intermountain Therapy Animals’ R.E.A.D.® Program

Abstract

The Reading Education Assistance Dogs® (R.E.A.D.) program, a literacy support model utilizing therapy animals to help children develop their reading and communication skills, presents many ongoing, if informal, opportunities to promote humane concepts and behaviors. Key is the establishment of secure, trusted relationships and ongoing exposure to positive role models.

An erratum to this chapter can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6922-9_16

Getting Started: How to Implement a Reading Education Assistance Dog® Program

Mary Renck Jalongo

• 1. Understand the training component.  In R.E.A.D.®, the handlers are trained to work with their dogs and provide reading support to the children. Teachers and reading specialists contribute the expertise in reading assessment and often work with school and/or public librarians to identify appropriate books for each child. Dogs for reading assistance are at a different training level than a service dog, so the animals used in reading programs are not being “taken away” from children with special needs. Additionally, if a dog is well trained, that training may have been provided in another setting originally (e.g., the prison dog training programs that are emerging around the country). If the dog has mastered the commands, this training will transfer over to another competent dog handler. Therapy dogs need to be even tempered around adults, children, and other dogs. They also need to be graduates of advanced obedience training that teaches them to ignore distractions, adapt quickly to different situations, and respond reliably to commands.

• 2. Gain strong administrative support and educate colleagues.  Begin by making it clear that this is not a request to bring an untrained family pet along to school as a diversion or just a large group presentation. Rather, R.E.A.D.® is a carefully planned reading program that involves collaboration among, at the very least, reading professionals, registered and insured therapy dogs and handlers, school and/or local library and media specialists, and the families/community (see printable brochure at www.therapyanimals.org). Most schools will require all literacy mentors to have a criminal record check and child abuse history clearance.

• 3. Address safety and liability issues.  The best protection is prevention of problems. Work exclusively with trained, registered, and regularly evaluated handler/dog teams. The dogs of Therapy Dogs International, Inc. (www.tdi-dog.org) and the Pet Partners Program of the Delta Society (www.deltasociety.org) are rigorously evaluated prior to earning their registration, and these dogs are taken on many visits to public places to ensure that they are reliable, steady, and predictable (Peterson, 1999). In order to maintain their certification, handlers must renew their annual membership. The Delta Society requires all teams to retest every 2 years.

  TDI, Inc. provides members in good standing with liability insurance; however, this coverage is for volunteers only. Therefore, a teacher cannot bring her or his own therapy dog to class and have insurance coverage because he or she is in the role of employee rather than volunteer. One way for teachers to have the opportunity to work with their own therapy dogs is to volunteer for an after-school, summer program, or library program in which they would be categorized as volunteers.

• 4. Consider the community.  Before championing an animal-assisted therapy program, think about what the community will support and adopt a culturally responsive approach to pursuing the project. In urban settings, fierce dogs may be kept as protection and as a status symbol. As a result, children may have been taught to fear dogs. In some cultures, dogs are viewed with disgust, as a nuisance or as a food source. Identify some community organizations and agencies that might lend support. Participation in the program needs to be completely voluntary, and attractive alternatives to participation must be provided.

• 5. Plan the budget.  Generate a list of everything that will be necessary to deliver the program, and then determine who will be responsible for payment. Talk with others who have experience in operating these innovative programs to get a sense of what to expect in terms of overall cost. Financial arrangements for these intervention programs vary. Usually, the dogs and their handlers work on a volunteer basis. Some handler/therapy dog teams have financial support from multiple sources, such as grants, professional organizations, or private donations. Typically, the major expense is the consumables—the books that are given to the children. Some teachers apply for mini-grants through their schools or work with local businesses or charitable organizations to defray the cost of the books. It is best to put the financial plans into a written budget that is shared with all of the people responsible for the program.

• 6. Determine which children are to participate.  Realize that there may not be enough dog/handler teams to accommodate every child at the school. Therapy dog programs often focus on children with reading difficulties. Perhaps it might be better to use therapy dogs as an incentive in a summer program for children who need additional support in literacy learning. Realize also that animals, like people, have unique characteristics so give careful consideration to the match between child and dog. A child who is very distractible might benefit from an older, mellow dog, while a child who is disinterested may brighten at the antics of a livelier animal.

• 7. Secure parents’/guardians’ permissions.  After obtaining the support of supervisory personnel, obtain permission from the parent(s)/guardian(s) of every child to be involved in the program. After securing permission from families, determine if the individual child wants to participate. Make sure to verify the child’s medical history so that children who are allergic to dogs or afraid of dogs will not be included. All registered therapy dogs are bathed or well groomed immediately before a visit and many handlersuse an anti-dander spray or wipes so that the most common source of allergic reactions is significantly reduced. If a child's allergies are mild, meeting in an outdoor space is another option. It is strongly advised that the parent/guardian consult with the child’s doctor if the child has any medical condition that might prohibit participation in the program.

• 8. Address sanitation concerns.  Although animals can spread disease and infection or carry parasites, all registered therapy animals have regular checkups with their veterinarians and are cared for by their handlers. All Therapy Dogs International, Inc. and Delta Society handlers are required to provide proof of vaccination and vet visits as well as proof of insurance to any institutions they visit. The field of pediatric nursing is an excellent resource for infection and disease control advice (Brodie Biley, & Shewring, 2002) since over 600 hospitals in the United States sponsor animal-assisted activities and therapy programs (Peterson, 1999). On rare occasion, even a highly trained dog will become ill suddenly and vomit, urinate, or defecate in the school or on school property. Their handlers bear responsibility for cleaning up after their animals and are prepared to do so appropriately.

• 9. Inform colleagues, staff, and families.  After all the necessary clearances are obtained, be certain to send a letter out to all of the families that reminds them about the program and their child’s participation in it. Make an attractive information board that highlights the purposes of the program. Take photographs of the handler/dog teams that will be visiting and post them on the bulletin board. You may want to get permission to take digital photos to post on the school’s website before the program begins. Expect that such information will generate genuine excitement and animated conversations among the students.

• 10. Prepare children and staff.  Before the program officially begins, plan an interactive group presentation by the handlers that coaches the children on appropriate ways to interact with their canine reading companions. Children will be eager for the dogs to like them, so this is the time to reinforce being quiet, slow, and gentle when interacting with their reading buddies. Make this large group session open to parents/families and make multiple copies on videotape and compact disc so that families who were unable to attend can learn about the project at home.

• 11. Plan for the dogs’ safety and well-being.  Adults responsible for the program must be vigilant in protecting therapy dogs from harm. It is never the case that dogs and children are simply thrown together while adults stand idly by on the sidelines. Rather, it is important for all of the adults involved to observe carefully and be alert to the first signs of difficulty. Children can sometimes get excited and act unpredictably around the dogs, accidentally injuring them in the process. All of the Therapy Dog International, Inc. dogs are tested around hospital equipment, children, other dogs, and distractions (e.g., startling noises, food placed on the floor). Attention must also be paid to the dog’s health and stamina. It is unfair and unethical to over schedule therapy animals to the point where they are exhausted; Intermountain Therapy Animals recommend no more than 1.5 h of work at a time for the dogs.

• 12. Decide how expansive the program will become.  If a reading/therapy dog program is implemented with those students who have reading difficulties, do not be surprised if many other children and families wish to participate. Unlike other reading interventions that may inadvertently stigmatize children who lag behind peers in reading, one great advantage of R.E.A.D.® and other quality programs like it is that most children reading at or above grade level genuinely want to participate too. Meeting this demand may require quite a few more registered therapy dogs and handlers. This is where another level of community collaboration can come in as educators, humane organizations, animal shelters, dog trainers, AKC members, 4-H, high school students, senior citizens, adults with special needs, and incarcerated individuals can all play a role in selecting, training, and evaluating therapy dogs. Accommodating children without reading difficulties may be best accomplished in a library-based program where children can sign up for a read aloud session with the therapy dog and handler.

  Source: Updated from: Jalongo, M. R. (2005). “What are all of these dogs doing at school?” Therapy dogs to promote children’s reading practice. Childhood Education, 81(3), 152–158; reprinted with permission from the Association for Childhood Education International.

• 13. Conform to the site's safety precautions. Many schools require visitors to ring a buzzer in order to have the doors unlocked, sign in and out on a visitor's log, wear a name badge, and provide emergency contact information. Literacy mentors need to submit copies of their paperwork and wear their identification badges.