Selby's 'reading to dogs' service returns after lockdown
Dora and Morgan the Labradors help young children with their confidence in reading.
Selby Library is reintroducing ‘reading to dogs’ sessions as an answer to building children’s confidence.
After the coronavirus pandemic brought them to a halt, the sessions – using therapy dogs as a soundboard for children’s reading – are returning.
It's hoped in the post-pandemic era that they could also serve a fresh purpose, in helping to restore language skills among children who have lacked the opportunity to interact with others during repeated lockdowns and other restrictions.
The sessions re-started with a 'drop-in’ last week (Wednesday 25th August), but regular dates will be the first and third Saturday of each month, where reading slots of 15 minutes’ duration can be booked.
A beanbag is provided for the reader while the therapy dog – one of two placid and specially trained Labradors, Dora and Morgan – will patiently ‘listen’ to their story-telling.
Outreach librarian Alison Tutill came up with the idea after reading of similar work in the USA and recruited help from the Pets as Therapy group and started sessions a couple of years ago: "After long periods of lockdown, children are losing speech and language skills, so if someone has a child who wants to bring in a picture book to talk about it, rather than reading, that will help them.
"One woman told us her daughter would not read to anyone, but she then spent 15 minutes reading to the dog. Her mum was amazed".
The regular sessions will take place on Saturdays between 10am and noon, with bookings available through the library.
Rachael Wilson is a pets as therapy volunteer: "Dora is a 9 year old rescue dog from Serbia; she was very neglected and we found her on Facebook. She was a desperate for a home so we went to see her and brought her home. She's been great ever since.
"We spend 2 hours here and the children can book an appointment; they get 10-15 minutes reading a book of their choice to Dora. At the end of the session they get a big cuddle, and can go home happy having boosted their confidence.
"This service is vital if you have a child that's nervous of reading. The dog can sit and listen in a relaxed atmosphere without any judgements.
"Dora is super calm and quiet, and is happy to meet everybody. She loves being cuddled and is great with people young and old".
Rachael thinks the service could work on a bigger scale and for other age groups: "It's great for adults with special needs, it's great for anyone with learning difficulties and anyone who struggles reading".
County Councillor Greg White, Executive Member for Libraries, said: "The county’s libraries are a wonderful resource which provide a wide range of services for all our communities. They have proved a lifeline through the pandemic, but this is one service which could not continue while problems were at their worst.
"Now it is returning I am sure it will be as popular as it was and will help many to improve their confidence as well as their reading and language skills."
You can see a video of Dora and Morgan helping out here.