Therapy Dog Title : CCKC is pleased to announce that the American Kennel Club has approved our status as a visiting therapy dog team with the right to accrue hours toward the AKC Therapy Dog title. CCKC members who visit the Goleta Public Library with their dogs can document fifty hours of visiting and earn the AKC therapy dog title. Background: Children with reading difficulties are often self-conscious when reading to adults or their peers, and therefore avoid reading out loud. However, dogs are non-judgmental and these same children feel comfortable reading to a canine partner and in this way learn to enjoy reading. For over ten years, children have been reading to dogs in schools and libraries across the country. There is a lot of variety in the way these programs are structured.
Children look forward to these sessions, learn to associate reading with the comforting presence of a furry friend, and ultimately look forward to reading. Studies have shown that reading grade levels frequently improve as well. Children regard reading to a dog as similar to their parents reading to them, and may select a book to read that they think the dog will enjoy.
