Dogs

It has always been said that the dog is man’s best friend. It might be true. Some dogs look like their owners. In fact, you may know who the owner of a dog is just when you see it. It seems that they also behave alike. However, it is not only about dogs that I want to talk about but how they are involved in Education.

This morning when I arrived to school I saw some dogs at the main door. Since there is a park round the corner I thought that it had something to do with friends taking the dog out and just passing by our school. Then, I went in and I went straight to Miss Kim’s classroom. To my surprise, after listening to O Canada, someone knocked at the door and when the door was opened Clare was there standing with Nelly, a white and brown collie.  She asked Miss Kim if she could take one of the children to the reading room. As that was something unknown for me, I wanted to share the experience with them and I went to the reading room, too. So there we were, reading to Nelly. The children took their favourite tale and they read it to her aloud. It was amazing how these kids that have troubles with reading were able to relax and read (at their pace) a tale to Nelly.

This is the Ottawa Therapy Dogs whose therapy dog teams provide health care and education facilities across the National Capital Region. In Education, they have a Reading Education Assistance Dogs program in local schools and libraries helping students make enormous strides in reading and communication skills while building self-esteem and confidence.