Pet therapy groups help kids with literacy skills

DEPTFORD - Sprawled on his belly on the floor, Owen Marple read aloud in a nook at the Deptford Public Library.

He read quickly, but the paragraphs smoothly and clearly left his lips.

Owen, 12, wasn't always such a confident reader. But his tutors — every single one illiterate — helped the pre-teen with autism feel comfortable speaking out loud.

"It seems like Rusty is listening," Owen, of West Deptford, told the Courier-Post last week when he met with Furever As Friends' S.M.I.L.E. (Silent Mentors in Literacy Education) program volunteers.

Rusty — a copper and white Brittany Spaniel — was next to the boy, with his snout resting on Owen's borrowed library book.

Rusty thinks the Titanic is "just OK," commented Owen, a Titanic fanatic, looking up from "Titanic: The Truth Behind the Disaster."

Tuesday night, Rusty, along with two cats and two beagles, heard selections from Dr. Seuss, Land of Stories, and the tale of Pete the Cat from more than a dozen children under the age of 13.

The pet therapy organization, founded by Sharon and John Bednar in 2013, created S.M.I.L.E. to let kids build literacy skills by reading to cats, dogs and rabbits. Josh the bunny regularly attends sessions.

The Bednars worked with pet therapy groups in Philadelphia before starting the Woolwich-based nonprofit organization.

Since it began, it's grown from the couple's three therapy dogs and three therapy cats to 80 animal-human teams participating at public events at 11 area libraries and private sessions for special-needs classrooms at 10 South Jersey schools.

Sessions are held at public libraries in Mullica Hill, Swedesboro, Logan, West Deptford, Washington Township, Glassboro, Greenwich, Woodbury, Deptford, Wenonah and Monroe.

In the relaxed atmosphere, children who are shy, suffer speech impediments or have other special needs can work with animals who won't correct them or make faces if they stumble over a word, Sharon Bednar said.

"The dog doesn't correct them. We don't correct them," she explained.

"We provide a very relaxed atmosphere. We discourage parents from being helicopter parents. Sometimes a child won't read as well."

Pets must pass an American Kennel Club test checking temperament, patience and obedience.

"We do have to make sure they're not going to be afraid, and they don't mind 1,000 little (kids) coming up and petting them," Bednar explained.

In the Deptford Library, Rusty was joined by Bednar's black and white cat named Bentley, a black cat named Bane and handler Jackie Caban, and two beagles, including Owen's favorite, Samantha.

"I like being with these dogs," Owen said, holding Rusty's paw, and describing the spaniel's "sweet nature."

Owen is the S.M.I.L.E. program's No. 1 fan. Library workers throughout the county know him by name. The dogs might, too, particularly Samantha.

By the end of the hour-long session, it's critical Owen meets with each of the half-dozen pets, reading each a story.

Since Caban began volunteering in April, she's watched children transform into better readers who aren't scared of animals.

"Kids come in who are afraid of cats and dogs and within an hour, somebody who was terrified is sitting there petting a dog," said Caban, Gloucester County's assistant prosecutor. She brings her cat to public sessions, feeding him treats to keep him calm.

"I like seeing the kids read. They're not reading for practice or for homework. The tone is different."

When Owen's mom, Kim Marple, signed him up nine years ago for his first pet reading program with another group, she didn't know how her son would be impacted.

"I thought, he's not a good reader, or a confident reader, but he loved dogs," she remembered.

"It helped him socially. It brought him out of his shell," she explained.

Interacting with new pets and their humans provides practice in reading skills, and tests his bravery in asking handlers questions about their animals.

"He's not in very many activities, but when you say, 'Would you like to read to the dogs?' He's out the door with Titanic under his arm," his mom said.

Carly Q. Romalino; (856) 486-2476; cromalino@gannettnj.com