"Paws for Literacy" Program Info

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In Memorium
KOAL (Sept 1995-May 2008)

Introducing the 'Paws for Literacy^®' Programme (continued ...)

The Process (Continued from previous page)
Five dogs were initially chosen to join our Kiss Me 'Koukla' at our inaugural date (the January 24, 2009) at the Hillsburgh Library branch. Given her certified Therapy Dog status as well as the fact that Koukla is frequently exposed to puppies, adult dogs and humans that have a variety of energy levels, uniquely qualified her to 'lead the charge' to bring children and literacy together! For details and photos of our first event, please click here.

The selection process was "vigorous" and occurred in a simulated child/dog test environment at our training facility here at Spirit Ridge. We have made every effort possible to ensure that the selected dogs have the temperament to endure the energy that children have as well as create calmness on the children's part - which will help them concentrate on the reading, not necessarily the dog. For us, the dogs are the 'tool' that helps us achieve our ultimate objective - to encourage children in our community to read more! A beneficial byproduct of this interaction is that we get to teach children how to properly greet, interact and feel comfortable with a dog, which are very useful social skills given the number of dogs that exist in our communities.

The handlers of the selected dogs also have a vital role to play in the process. They have been educated and prepared to be (discretely) vigilant ensuring that the child/dog interaction remains safe and progressing well. In addition, the handlers may occasionally be required to (gently) coach the child into reading rather than being attracted solely by the 'newness' of the dog.

The location of the event, being the Wellington CLibrary - Hillsburgh Branch - is in our opinion the ideal backdrop that encourages both the literacy/learning aspects as well as a calmer demeanour by the children - an appropriate 'library conduct', in other words. This is one of the reasons we approached our local library staff in the summer of 2008 and they have ever since been tirelessly working with us to make this project a reality! Their hard work has not gone unnoticed by everyone working with Spirit Ridge K9 Training & Rescue on this project!

Description of the Event
Parents are required to pre-register with the Library staff and select a pre-determined time slot for their child to read to a Literacy Assistance Dog. Guidelines, information and requirements of the reading programme are also be handed out at registration.

On the day of the event, parents should make every effort to arrive around 15 minutes before their scheduled time slots. Setting up the pairings by appropriately matching the dogs with the children will take a few minutes not to mention trying to settle the excited children! Once the pairings have been determined, Jim Tsitanidis (head trainer at Spirit Ridge) escorts each child to the set up area in the library where they are introduced to their handler/dog team. Parents can be extremely helpful in the selection process if they can encourage their child to answer our questions so that we can take his/her preferences into consideration when matching up!

At the end of the time slot, the children are returned to their parents one by one. We make every effort to allow the children that are actively reading to stay as long as possible. The handlers will be very instrumental in helping us determine which child has 'had enough' and which one hasn't.

Parents should also remember that the library is an environment where other are reading and enjoying the calm, tranquil library environment. Spirit Ridge encourages all parents to remind the children to be calm and respectful of others that are enjoying the library.

Why Are We Doing This?
Everyone participating in this programme is doing so on a volunteer basis. In fact, we are grateful to the volunteer handlers and their dogs, who come from locations outside Erin - Georgetown, Orangeville, Cambridge, Guelph, Rockwood to name a few. Spirit Ridge K9 Traini is proud to have initiated this programme - driven by our strong community spirit - in addition to our intense desire to encourage greater literacy skills amongst the children of our community. All volunteer handlers share these objectives and we have been overwhelmed with the number of our clients that have offered to help and join our programme.

None of this would have been possible without the Hillsburgh Library staff who are instrumental in providing not only the appropriate location but the know-how regarding children and books plus the demanding task of personally informing parents of the details, registering, confirming, scheduling and following up. Undertaking these daunting-for-us tasks has made it possible to allow us to concentrate on the details of the reading interaction. For that we are extremely grateful and appreciative!

Since Spirandlers a second chance at creating a wonderful bond and enduring relationship, it made a great deal of sense that we would try and expand that philosophy to encourage children to read - in essence - giving literacy a second chance with children. That's why we bring in (what I like to call) the 'big guns' ... our wonderful and encouraging K9 friends! We are thrilled that our dream has finally been realized and look forward to a wonderful, fun (and, calm at the same time) series of Paws for Literacy events in 2009 and beyond.

Event Dates, Pictures and Articles from Past Events
In addition to our inaugural January 24, 2009 event (click here for a parent testimonial from our first event), we have had a 'Paws' event on:
-- April 25, 2009 (for Wellington County coverage of event, click here)
-- July 11, 2009 (for local Erin coverage of event, click here; for pictures from the event, click here)
-- November 14, 2009 (for Wellington Advertiser coverage of event click here, for pictures click here); for Erin Advocate coverage of event click here
-- April 10, 2010 - for pictures click here

The next event is scheduled for September 18, 2010. Please show your support for literacy and our programme by registering your child to read and hang out with these wonderful furry literacy helpers .....

For those interested in pre-registering for the next event, please call Donna or Leah at the Hillsburgh Library branch (tel: 519-855-4010 or, via e-mail: Hillsburghlib@county.wellington.on.ca)

Jim Tsitanidis
K9 Trainer & Behavioural Consultant

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