Read more about the Fur Angels

A heart with a dog's paw inside

"The dogs don't care if you read really, really bad so you just keep going"

Fur Angels

The Fur Angels

Students with the Fur Angels employee and a dog

The kids interacting with a golden retriever

Once a month, it's a dog world at Taylor Parks.  The Fur Angels, a local pet therapy group, visits our school.  Researchers in the U.S. have found that reading to dogs helped children improve their fluency by 30%.  The dogs, in contrast to a human, don't judge the individual, aren't grading the individual, and that allows the children to build
some confidence in their reading skills.

In addition to increased reading fluency, teachers have also noted:

  • Students have improved self-confidence and self-esteem.

  • Students find reading fun and volunteer to read aloud in class.

  • Students are gentler and have more respectful interactions with animals.