MAY/JUNE 2005

Paws to Read

By Tamara Sevigny

Bentley waited patiently for his adolescent storytellers to arrive as he gave out an excess of kisses to myself and the staff at The Waterford Public Library. The brown, petite, wirehaired dog had us wrapped around his paw as we all sat on the floor to greet him. This was not an uncommon event for Bentley, as he travels around to local schools and libraries all the time, offering his expertise of listening. This little dog is highly trained, professionally groomed and even has insurance.

Bentley is an 8-year-old Standard Wirehaired Dashound that has been reading with children for just over 2 years. He and his retired owners, Letty Lee and Sigmond Stein take Bentley to Waterford Library every Monday from 6-8pm for reading time. He spends the two hours with children in first grade or higher, sitting with them and listening as they read aloud.

The 15-minute reading sessions are meant to be a non-threatening and fun environment for kids to have practice reading. The usual pressures of peers and adults listening are vanished during these sessions. Bentley and Letty Lee offer no instruction in the sessions, just uninterrupted attention. This sort of therapy has proven to motivate children to read.

Bentley is part of the Delta Society, a group of therapy dogs and their owners who volunteer their time to read with children. The society was established in 1977 in Portland, Oregon and is now a nation-wide program and becoming more and more popular. The six-week sessions are offered in libraries, schools, and even bookshops.

The Delta Society would like to expand awareness of the positive effect animals can have on human health and development. They want to see barriers removed that prevent involvement of animals in everyday life. And they aim to expand the therapeutic and service role of animals in human health, service and education.

Bentley became involved with Delta Society because his owners were part of the W.A.G.S. (Wonderful Animals Giving Support) program. They were offering the therapy of Bentley at hospitals and nursing homes when they heard about Delta Society through the group, and Bentley instantly became a hit! He spends several hours every week visiting libraries and schools in the area.

Bentley is quickly becoming well known, already featured in many area newspapers. He is a sweet, quiet dog who loves the praise and attention he gets from the children, and the adults.

For more information on Delta Society and to find a program near you visit www.deltasociety.org.