By Inika Khosla

‘To read is to dream with your eyes open’, and rightfully so for what we read often transforms the world around us and for that brief moment, gives us a new sense of reality.’

Many have come to realise that reading to a dog has far more benefits for children than just reading aloud. A study published by the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University was able to assign the following benefits to reading to dogs –

• Increased motivation to read independently
• Increased self-confidence and esteem
• Increased sense of support

The “Minor immediate effects of a dog on children’s reading performance and physiology” conducted a small study to assess and were also able to gauge;

• Reduction of stress levels –

The advantage of the dog’s presence offered an increase in arousal and motivation which positively impacted the child’s reading. In a more technical sense, the presence of the dog showed lesser nervous movements and even heightened heart rates. The researchers were, therefore, able to gauge that the dog was able to produce a calming effect on the children which in turn may have contributed to a decrease in anxiety levels.

The country veterinary clinic also goes ahead to elaborate on how reading to dogs can be beneficial to children. Among other things as reduction of stress, it talks about how it is a combined fun activity which doesn’t demand too much of our pets therein not imposing any stress on them.

One of the most famous reading programmes established is ‘Reading with Rover’ in the United States.  From local hospitals, assisted living homes and several schools their team heads out to ensure a safe and non-threatening environment for children to hone and develop their reading skills.

Their organisation is mainly based on the study of Karen Allen at the State University of New York and Buffalo that proved how the presence of a dog was known to lower a person’s blood pressure while they read aloud to a dog.

Another research published in September of 2002 in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, talks about how pets can provide a reduction of acute stress.

The establishment of such programmes in India, therefore, is far more possible in the present times as we now have various organisations recognising the importance of Animal Assisted Activities, especially when dealing with children.

Spirited organisations as the Animal Angels Foundation established in Pune were one of the first to introduce us to the idea of reading to dogs. The concept was introduced to a school for students with learning disabilities and was known to encourage the students and provide a light-hearted distraction among other things.

The Covid pandemic largely affected the mental health space and saw a larger number of people seeking help. This, however, didn’t stop our organisation from taking sessions online. We were also able to conduct a reading session online with Murphy and Leo which turned out to be a huge success for the children involved.