Dear P.A.W.S. Education Staff,
I'm writing to thank you on behalf of my two sons - ages 8 and 11, who participated in our Paws to Read - Reading to Dogs Program.
I still recall when my wife shared with me that she had registered our sons for a program there they would read to dogs. First, I though to myself, I knew that dogs couldn't read, but I didn't realize that there was a service that had been created to help them out. Obviously, I did not immediately grasp the intended benefits of the program to my kids.
We soon realized the many benefits of the reading program. Each week in preparation for our appointment, my boys began to go through books that they though that their dogs might llike. It was nice to see them be so thoughtful of the interests of others. Then, when we packed to go to our reading time, I had to remind them that they probably couldn't get through more than one or two short books at one visit. They patiently reminded me that they wanted to have backup books in case the dog they were reading to wasn't interested in the first one. I had to smile as I allowed them to each pack a larger stack of books. The biggest benefit happened a couple of weeks into the program. That week, my older son was learning about writing letters. Their first assignment was to write a letter to a friend. Many times, my older son doesn't get motivated to do his in-class writing assignments and they turn into long homework assignments. However, for the first time in weeks, there was no homework. He was so excited to write to his new dog friend, "Chewy" that he finished his assignment at school and had no writing homework. As we finished the reading to dogs program, I realized that the program had been very effective for my kids. I want to thank everyone who supports this innovative reading program including Chewy. With so many dogs being blamed for eating homework, I think it is only fair that Chewy get credit for getting my son excited about his schoolwork and completing it in record time.
We look forward to the next time that you run the program. I know a couple of boys who already have some books picked out.