Class Acts: Therapy Dogs Work Full Time in Classrooms

By Jen Reeder

The first-grade boy didn’t like reading—or even trying to read. He’d fallen behind during the pandemic and felt embarrassed in front of his classmates, so he’d just shut down and refuse to participate, looking at the ceiling or fiddling with a pencil.

Courtesy of Lydia Babbit

That changed last fall when a Labrador Retriever named Hudson started visiting classes at PS9 The Sarah Smith Garnet School in Brooklyn, New York, according to the child’s teacher, Lydia Babbit.

“With Hudson, he sits down with her, puts his hand on her head, and reads to her,” she says. “If he makes up a word, it’s fine — he uses the pictures to guide him. It makes me so happy to see. This has been an experience that has helped him come out of his shell and feel more comfortable reading for himself, but also reading for someone else.” Continue reading the complete article here: akc.org 

From akc.org

Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=246755

Posted by Liz on Sep 27 2022. Filed under Current Articles, Featured, The Buzz. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.