BonnerSprings.com

Zoe and Llew helped children read books by listening to them read out loud Thursday night at the Bonner Springs City Library.

But Zoe and Llew aren’t reading helpers of the human variety. They are dogs with the Reading Education Assistance Dogs program, which is designed to provide young readers with a safe and comforting reading companion.

“They are very good reading companions because they cross all social barriers, they cross all ethnic barriers,” said Fran Lancaster, a R.E.A.D. coordinator and instructor. “Dogs are great listeners. They do not judge, ridicule or criticize ... They permit the children to work at their own pace without the worry associated with task completion. And, you know, they are not as intimidating as teachers or (a child's) peers or classmates may be.”

The R.E.A.D. program is an international organization that just celebrated its 10-year anniversary Nov. 14. Lancaster is a coordinator with the R.E.A.D. program based in Kansas City, which is just one facet of services provided by animal volunteers with Pets For Life in Kansas City, Mo.

“Most people have been associated at some point in their life with the gentle, caring nature of a dog or a cat, and people understand the comfort that has come to them through ownership of a (dog or a) cat,” Lancaster said. “We also know medically … that when people pet an animal, it causes a release of anxiety and lowering of blood pressure. That is a proven medical fact.”

Lancaster said the animals are recruited into the Pets For Life program by owners who sign their pets up and then train the animals themselves. Every two years they are involved in the program, Lancaster said, they must show they can handle the conditions and noises associated with nursing homes, hospitals and any other facilities they might visit.

The R.E.A.D. program has been part of the Pets For Life program for the last five years, Lancaster said. The dogs involved in the program are taken by their owners to visit libraries and schools, where children read to the dogs and spend some time with them.

Zoe, a standard poodle, and Llew, a beagle, belong to Lancaster and her husband Rich Herz. Last week at the Bonner City Library, several area children showed up to the event to read their book to Zoe or Llew.

“Zoe doesn’t bother me,” said 9-year-old Morgan Wilcox of why she enjoyed reading her book to a dog that, unlike her younger sister Cooper, doesn’t interrupt her while she is trying to read. “She’s soft. I like to pet her.”

Eight-year-old Keith Cunningham, who also read to Zoe, said he enjoyed reading to her because, as he said simply, “I like dogs.”

“I already know how to read a lot,” he said, making note that he was a good reader with or without a dog to listen, but having a dog around was still nice.

Lancaster said the true reward the children are given from reading to the dogs was the self-confidence associated with helping someone else, even “someone” like Zoe or Llew, understand the story in the pages of the book.

“The children actually think the dogs are listening to them,” Lancaster said. “That’s really the key thing. It boosts their self-esteem because they think they have the capacity to help the dog understand.”

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