Wisconsin Academy for Graduate Service Dogs (WAGS)

Therapy Stories

READING TO A DOG by CINDY HOLLAND, Volunteer Puppy Raiser

About a year ago, WAGS Program Director, Kelly, told me about a program she’d been a part of while a student at the Assistance Dog Institute where kids read to dogs.  Using dogs to help children improve their reading skills is not a new concept.  It’s being done all over the country.  Now, it was time to start at WAGS; partnering with a local school district using WAGS dogs in training with the kids.  Since I’m employed by a Cooperative Education Service Agency and a Volunteer Puppy Raiser, I had the right contacts to help get this program off the ground. 

After contacting the Reading Specialist, Kathy Strayer, at Pardeeville School District, I became very excited about starting this program.  Kathy was quite knowledgeable about these reading programs and was excited to get one started with some of her students.  Sometimes children can feel fearful or intimated when reading aloud in front of their peers.  Children who have difficulty reading often fear making mistakes in front of their peers.  They may be shy or lack confidence, or may be kids who just have short attention spans.  Kids reading to dogs was established to give kids an opportunity to practice and enjoy reading away from the normal classroom environment.   

Kids don’t have to be self-conscious, worried or embarrassed when they’re with a dog.  When children read to a dog, the dog doesn’t care if the child mispronounces a word, or has trouble sounding it out.  Dogs don’t tease, laugh or judge.  They just listen.  When the dog is listening, the environment is transformed.  A child’s dread is replaced by eager anticipation and learning occurs. 

HERO AND INGLESIDE NURSING HOME by BARB SCHULTZE, Volunteer Puppy Raiser

Before Mark and I started volunteering with WAGS, we had become interested in doing therapy dog work.  This was because my father was home-bound with severe dementia and had poor hearing and sight.  We noticed that when we visited with the dogs, he would perk up, pet the dogs and enjoy the visit much more.  So we began to bring the dogs every time we visited. 

Two of our pet dogs, Stitch and Reggie had good personalities and were well behaved. Before starting therapy work, we took them to a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) class, and then the AKC certification test.  In order to learn more about the therapy dog work, we became Pet Partners through the Delta Society, an educational organization, which helps the handler learn about therapy work, as well as testing the dog’s suitability. In addition to the training class, Delta Society requires that the dog be one year old. The local branch of Delta Society is Dogs on Call www.dogsoncall.org  Mark and I chose to work with our pet dogs at Ingelside nursing home in Mount Horeb and then later at Hospice Care on Fish Hatchery Road.  (Hospice Care requires additional training through their Volunteer Program.)  

As our WAGS Service Dog in training, Hero, began to get older, we wondered if we could use him for therapy work as well.  Much of the training we do with Service Dogs is similar to Therapy dog training. I talked with Kelly, the WAGS Program Director, as well as the Resident Activities Director at Ingelside Nursing Home.  Both Kelly and the Director thought that it was a wonderful idea to use Hero – both for Hero’s continued training and for the residents of Ingleside.   

Staff members and residents enjoy Hero’s visits. Some residents enjoy the “youngness”/wet nose that Hero brings. I encouraged Hero to come closer to wheel chairs, and to learn how to be petted by people who can not reach very far to pet, or, maybe pet differently.  I helped Hero position himself by moving him to the side of the chair or bed.  The residents look forward to his visits and he really lifts their spirits.  Hero can put on a little “show” for the residents by performing some of the skills that he does such as getting his leash, etc. 

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