Provides boost on path to adoption
It isn’t always easy to be an animal and an introvert.
For many potential pets at the St. Charles Parish Animal Shelter, it can take a while for the right loving family to come along and provide a home.
It can be even tougher for a shy animal. On the days people interested in adopting come along, a livelier, more energetic pup, for example, will likely garner more attention than one tucked away to himself in the back of the kennel.
The St. Charles Humane Society’s recently-established Reading Buddies program is primed to help that cause. Through the program, children read to shelter animals as a way of readying them for their eventual forever homes while also helping children improve their reading skills. The shelter animals are provided socialization while it helps children learn and exercise empathy at a young age. Children who sign up are taught to read an animal’s body language and discern if they are anxious or in need of extra attention as part of a monthly training session. The volunteering children are encouraged to sit in front of a shy dog or cat’s area and read to them. The reading is said to have a calming effect on the pets-to-be and ultimately make them more adoptable.
Variations of the volunteer program have been gaining traction in other places nationally, and for plenty good reason: it seems to be extremely effective. One person who can vouch for the effectiveness of the program is Luling’s Tanya Waits, who brought her son, 10-year-old Kyle, and her daughter, 7-year-old Kaitlyn, to the St. Charles Parish Animal Shelter Saturday to participate in the program.There, the children read to Susie, a puppy who had major anxiety about socialization.
“She was extremely scared when we first arrived,” Waits said. “She was a puppy who didn’t want to cross thresholds. If you’re in another room, she doesn’t want to come over through a doorway. Her entire body was shaking.”
Instead of Suzie coming over to play, the children went to Susie and spent an hour and a half reading to her, petting her and talking to her. Kyle read Susie a book about baseball, while Kaitlyn opted to read about a subject almost certainly near and dear to Suzie’s heart: a book about dogs.
By the end of the session, Suzie learned there are humans out there she could trust — or even love. The pup was excited to play with Kyle and Kaitlyn, running around and licking their faces. She even crossed a threshold for them, going to them as they called to her from another room.
“She didn’t seem like a shy dog anymore. It was like night and day,” Waits said.
It was especially exciting and beneficial for Kyle, who Waits said “loves all animals” and plans to become a veterinarian one day. Kyle copes with ADHD and struggles with reading at times, and doing so is hardly one of his favorite activities.
But when reading was combined with something that grabbed his interest, he couldn’t wait to do it.
“He wanted to do it,” Waits said. “He’s not a child who really wants to read, but this was all he talked about all week. We got there, he got on the floor and was ready to read his book. There was no ‘Mom, can I stop now?’ He seemed to really enjoy it. It’s really the perfect thing to help him practice his reading while helping out.”
She said because he’s reading aloud, it has the added benefit of letting her know how he’s progressing.
“It was a great experience for them both, but especially for him,” Waits said. “His face was just lit up.”
Those interested in volunteering with the program may call Dr. Jena Troxler at 985-783-5010 to schedule training on Wednesdays at 10 a.m.
Waits said the family “absolutely” plans to continue volunteering with the program. Saturday’s events, in fact, may have inspired the Waits to bring in a new addition.“We’re definitely in the market for a dog now,” she said. “They just loved everything about this.”
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