SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 73
Paws 4 Reading Program at Marion Schilling School

Calm, non-judgmental and furry, a new group of volunteers will be visiting Marion Schilling Elementary each week for the rest of the school year to help some students with their reading skills.

The Paws 4 Reading program is part of the therapy dog program offered through St. John Ambulance.  A volunteer with a child-certified dog visits a school and the dog and the student sit together and read.

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"It is a wonderful way to motivate students," said Trudie BonBernard, therapy dog coordinator with St. John Ambulance. "Research shows that when children interact with a dog, their stress and anxiety is reduced, and their feelings of wellness and their feelings of positivity towards school is increased. That carries over to their reading."

BonBernard's dog, Skye, is a 12-year old Australian Labradoodle. He's been a therapy dog for eight years, working in numerous hospital departments including pediatrics, and at community and employee wellness events. He is also a family court dog and a former Thompson Rivers University (TRU) therapy dog.

BonBernard has been working with the school and with Marion Schilling PAC Chair Crystal Ashe to bring a therapy dog to the school once a week, to work with students in grades 4 - 7.

"I would like to expand the program to include the younger grades," said Ashe. "After that, we would like to offer it twice a week. It has already been a huge help. You can even see how much of a boost  it gives to students just having the dogs walking in the hallway."

For Brenda Mahon, a grade 2 teacher and a learning assistance resource teacher at Marion Schilling, bringing a therapy dog to the school sounded like a great idea. She studied at TRU, and she is very familiar with the benefits that therapy dogs provide students.

"It's a really good program," said Mahon. "For some students this little bit of extra help, where they can practice their reading skills in such a positive way and with no judgement, can make a big difference."

BonBernard says she would love to hear from other schools that might be interested in bringing the Paws 4 Reading program to their students.

"There are 70 therapy dogs in the Kamloops area, and 24 of these are child-certified, which means they can work in schools in the district," said BonBernard. "They range in size from tiny, about four pounds, to 150 pounds. There are the kinds of dogs you would expect, like Labradors who are certainly great for the job, but we also have Blue Heelers, Aussie Shepherds, purebred dogs and rescue dogs."

BonBernard said the therapy dogs also work with the SPCA to deliver No-Bite and Kindness programs to schools across the district.