Reading with Riley

As dogs go, I think I am considered a good boy. At least, that’s what my mom and dad say all the time. Although, my mom also calls me a “Big Galoot” every once in a while, as well as a couple of other things if I have been naughty that I won’t repeat in polite company. But, as I say, on the whole, I am a good boy.

My name is Riley Neufeld. I am 5 ½ years old; I’ll be 6 in late July. My breeding is Golden Retriever through and through. We Goldens are naturally friendly. We are known among canines for our outgoing, eager-to-please personalities, which makes us suitable for social service work. We don’t like to appear threatening at any time and so we greet everyone with friendly smiles and waggy tails. It’s just who we are.

We Goldens are also regarded as smarter than your average dog. I hate to brag, but I can figure out an “educational feeding toy” in seconds. If there is food involved, there is no holding me back! I can open my crate door by myself and I know the names of most of my plush toys. If dad says, “Get your squirrel!” I know which one to bring him. Or mom will ask, “Where’s your ball? Let’s look!” And I show her where it is. She sometimes can’t find it on her own.

I’ve been to school to learn the basics: sit, down, stay, come, heel, shake-a-paw and fetch. And I have done graduate work in off-leash heeling, find-it, touch, wait and high-five. Since I got good grades in all of those classes, my mom decided to enroll me in training for Animal Assisted Therapy with DOGTORS, a regional training program offering certification in AAT. We graduated in June, 2014 and I am now a therapy dog with my own bandana and ID tag. Mom and I launched our new career in July of last year, just after my 5^th birthday.

I like to think that I bring some furry comfort to patients and their families at Hospice of Dayton where we go every other Wednesday afternoon, as well as to the residents of an Assisted Living and Memory Care facility we visit on the alternate Wednesdays. I get a lot of pats and dog cookies and I try to make people feel better.

One of my main ambitions, though, when we em-BARKED on this venture was to read with little kids at school.

Perhaps you are SCRATCHING your head and saying, “Dogs in the classroom? Really?” Yes, really! Studies show that kids sometimes struggle with reading when they are in 2^nd and 3^rd grade or maybe they get nervous when they have to read aloud in class. Turns out they can do better and improve their reading if they get some help from a therapy dog! A nonjudgmental fur ball, like me, sitting with them while they practice their reading is just what the doctor ordered for boosting their confidence!

And it’s fun! We go to the local library every other Saturday along with four other FUR-riends from DOGTORS. A bunch of kids and their parents have been coming to see us. We dogs lie on fleecy blankets while the kids pat us and read funny stories to us.  Last week a little girl read me a story about two friends: a possum and a beaver that went on adventures together! Ha Ha! Can you imagine? A possum and a beaver! Well, I never heard of such a thing!

Just this week, we had our first visit to a real school! My mom’s friend, Mrs. Goff, who is my girlfriend, Kenzie’s mom, taught at this elementary school and she helped arrange it for us. We visited a 2^nd grade classroom where the teacher got out a big bean bag chair for the kids to sit in while they took turns reading their books to me. Some of the stories had dogs in them! But one I especially liked was about a boy reading stories to an old man who couldn’t see so well anymore! I told the kid that was kind of like what we were doing together and he said, “Oh, yeah!”

My mom made a big chart with colored paw prints on it. All the kids will print their names under the paws and then they’ll choose stickers to show that they had a turn reading to me. Everyone will get their turn by the end of the school year. I hope we help them read better.

I can’t wait to hear more stories. See, I can’t read myself, but I’ve heard that there is exciting literature about dogs out there! I hope someday someone will read me Call of the Wild, and Marley and Me, and Lassie Come Home, and The Incredible Journey. But not Old Yeller. I hear that one is too sad.