Hi Everyone,

I've been busting to bring my dog to one of the readings even though the HEAR program isn't specifically designed for a live animal's participation. So I decided to compromise and wait until the very last reading.

Since January I've been visiting two classes at the same school and chose to read Buddy Unchained to wrap things up. It shows a great contrast between Buddy's life with his loving family and how awful things were before they adopted him.

I brought my own beagle, Cori (who often accompanies me for other Humane Ed presentations). We started out with a discussion of how the kids could tell she is well cared for -- by visual clues about her health and grooming, and by her behavior.

Then I segued to Buddy. The first part of the book tells about his good life now, which we compared with Cori. When we read about his former life, I asked the kids if they thought Cori might ever have had those kinds of experiences. Since I know almost nothing about her life before I adopted her, it was a good exercise for all of us to imagine what her past might have been like.

After the reading and a few of the discussion questions from the HEAR guide, I instructed the classes how to get permission from Cori to pet her, how to pet her gently (not the way the kids mistreated Buddy in his past life), and how to feed her a small treat. "And a good time was had by all!"

I'm sure that when HEAR is ready to consider the possibility of incorporating live animals into the lessons on a regular basis there will be many more ideas from other folks. But I wanted to let you know how well everything went with this first exploration. And I'd love to hear what others think about combining a HEAR reading with an animal visit.

b j

I love the idea of comparing the pet you brought with the pet in the story as a discussion of humane care. I have been thinking of getting involved in the HEAR program if training ever comes to my area, but i also have a therapy pet I am starting to get involved with. It got me thinking; maybe the HEAR program can team with a registered therapy pet for one session for much what you did. By teaming up, you would have a second person to handle the dog while you concentrate on the story and the kids, and therapy pets have been trained and screened to be comfortable with a cass of kids, so you know they will be calm in the situation. There are Delta Society Pet Partners all accross the country, many already involved in programs like Read To Rover; it's natural combination!

Hi All,

While UAN does recognize the benefit animals can have in literacy programs, and is aware of many programs that do incorporate animal companions into classroom visits, the design of the HEAR program does not call for animals to accompany volunteers on HEAR visits. During a HEAR visit, volunteers read to children and engage children in thoughtful questions in an effort to encourage empathy and kindness toward animals.

I am glad that b j’s visit with her dog Cori went so well. In addition to being an active HEAR volunteer, b j is the Community and Educational Relations Director at the Montgomery County Humane Society (MCHS) and was able to bring her certified dog to her visit after making sure that it was okay with her organization and then the teachers, administrators on site.

Feel free to contact me at kgould@uan.org if you have any questions or would like to know more about the HEAR program.

Karly