Reading Buddies to meet Canine Friends Pet Therapy

Friendly dogs will join join a reading session for kids at Gonville Library. Photo / 123RF

On Thursday, December 8, Gonville Fun Club activity programme ‘Reading Buddies’ will host Hannah Jojofa and the Canine Friends Pet Therapy dogs for a reading session in the Gonville Library.

Reading Buddies is a community reading programme that pairs up less confident readers with a more experienced reader to practice reading skills and improve the literacy level of the less confident reader.

As per their website, https://www.caninefriends.org.nz/, Canine Friends Pet Therapy is a nationwide network of people who share their well-behaved, friendly dogs with residents in aged care, hospital patients and schoolchildren. Dogs make “fur-tastic” companions, and health research has shown that patients benefit from these reading sessions.

For children, these reading sessions are about creating a non-threatening and relaxed atmosphere which encourages kids to practice their reading skills and develop a love of reading.

Reading aloud is critical when a child is practicing their reading skills, and the Pet Therapy dogs are patient and attentive listeners. They never judge, they never laugh, they never criticise.

During sessions in libraries around the world, librarians and parents have noticed that reading to friendly dogs makes a child’s fear of being laughed at over mistakes completely disappear. As a result, the child starts building confidence and begins to look at reading as a pleasant experience.

In order to have this session in the library, a health and safety assessment has been made, and library staff and the dogs’ handlers will be present and assisting at all times during the session.

The activity takes place between 3.30pm and 4.30pm. There will be two dogs available to listen to a child reading and each session is 10 minutes, so a maximum of 12 children will be able to read to a furry friend.

Bookings are essential because of the limited reading slots. Bookings can be made with the Gonville Library via calling 06 344 5872 or emailing gonville@whanganuilibrary.com.