R.E.A.D. Dogs Minnesota

A growing field of medical research aims to pinpoint exactly why pets can make us happier and healthier. Some studies show that animal interaction can increase a person's level of oxytocin, a hormone associated with love and trust. And the animals also benefit from positive human interaction.

To listen to the National Public Radio story or read the transcript click here.

Those of us who own pets know they make us happy. But a growing body of scientific research is showing that our pets can also make us healthy, or healthier.

That helps explain the increasing use of animals — dogs and cats mostly, but also birds, fish and even horses — in settings ranging from hospitals and nursing homes to schools, jails and mental institutions.

To read or listen to the full National Public Radio story, click here.

The hope is man’s best friend can make a difference in young Rush City students who lack confidence, have short attention spans and are struggling with reading scores for their age and grade.

Through a program called Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) Minnesota, dogs and their owners can become therapy teams and help out on a monthly basis beginning this school year. Parent contacted the program after hearing many positive reviews about it from other schools and libraries.

Click here to read the full article.

The latest issue of the magazine Just Frenchies has a great article about R.E.A.D.   See the attached file for the full story. 

For more information about the magazine go to www.JustFrenchies.com.

According to a pilot study published by the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, a group of sec­ond-graders who read aloud to a dog experienced a slight gain in their reading ability and attitude toward reading, while another group of second-graders who were paired up with veterinary school volunteers (all adults) experienced a decrease on both measures.

Other findings:
* No second-grade readers who were paired up with canine-­counterparts left the group, while one third of those readers paired up with humans, failed to complete the study.
* Reading to a dog is a great way to build confidence and reading skills in a child. The study found the lowest level of stress for a child was when he was reading to a dog, while the highest level was when reading to one of his peers.

Click here to read the full article on how reading to dogs helps kids

Dogs not only provide people with companionship and love, but can assist us in daily tasks. Now “man's best friend” is taking on an even bigger role. Through a Tufts University Veterinary School pilot program they are actually helping kids who struggle to read.

Click here to watch the video of R.E.A.D.ing with Tufts' Paws for People.

__On a weekday evening inside a Baraboo library, a little bit of magic is happening.  Seated on a snuggly fleece blanket between a fortress of books, a child is learning to read—by reading aloud to a dog.

To read the full article open the attached file.