For all those poor animals that use to live on the streets, moving into a shelter is definitely an improvement. But even so, for many of these poor innocent souls adoption doesn’t come right away, so live in there could become pretty lonely and sad. Considering their backgrounds and as well as they have been through a lot, it’s very hard for these animals to trust humans, again. Because of that, their chances to find a new home became even lower.
Thankfully with so many volunteers eager to help them out, The Humane Society of Missouri came up with a brilliant solution to tackle that issue. So they fond the Shelter Buddies Reading Program which pairs young kids aged 6 to 16, with anxious dogs with the purpose to comfort the pups and help them to regain their trust in humans. On the other way this will definitely increase the dogs chances to find new loving parents. The kids initially need to complete a ten hours program, then they would sit in front the kennels were dog are kept and read books to them
“We started this for two reasons,” program director Jo Klepacki told The Dodo. “We wanted to help our shy and fearful dog without forcing physical interaction with them to see the positive effect that could have on them. Ideally that shy and fearful dog will approach and show interest. If so, the kids reenforce that behavior by tossing them a treat.”
The program is not only adorable, but is a win-win for both the dogs and the children. The four-legged improve their social skills and help them to trust humans again. Kids, on the other hand are improving their reading abilities in such a pleasant way. Find out more:
