The mission of the R.E.A.D.® program is to improve the literacy skills of children through the assistance of registered therapy teams as literacy mentors.
The Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program improves children’s reading and communication skills by employing a powerful method: reading to a dog. But not just any dog. R.E.A.D. dogs are registered therapy animals who volunteer with their owner/handlers as a team, going to schools, libraries and many other settings as reading companions for children.
Today, hundreds of registered R.E.A.D. teams work throughout the United States and Canada. R.E.A.D. is one of those ideas that, in the words of Bill Moyers, “pierces the mundane to arrive at the marvelous.”
Intermountain Therapy Animals, a nonprofit organization, launched R.E.A.D. in 1999 as the first comprehensive literacy program built around the appealing idea of reading to dogs, and the program has been spreading rapidly and happily ever since!
Other R.E.A.D.® News and Information
The R.E.A.D. Brochure
Download the R.E.A.D. brochure here (Adobe Acrobat, 117 KB)
R.E.A.D.® Featured on Westminster Dog Show Broadcast
ITA's R.E.A.D. program was featured on national television in a segment aired right before the Best in Show competition at the renowned Westminster Dog Show on February 8th, 2004. It was touching and inspiring, and it made our website tremble for the next few days!
The broadcast was a wonderful opportunity to introduce the R.E.A.D. concept to a few million people! The ITA website took some prodigious hits thereafter (17,000, 34,000, and 50,000) helping to spread the wonders of reading to a DOG. There are now 137 registered R.E.A.D. teams (not counting ITA's own 50+), participating in 28 other states with 37 other therapy groups!
Congratulations and many thanks to ITA member and R.E.A.D. team Richard Aronoff and his Pet Partner®, Figaro, for the excellent job they did, and also to David Frei, the Westminster spokesperson whose idea it was to feature R.E.A.D. for all those millions of dog-loving viewers.
Created: March 1, 2004 by Intermountain Therapy Animals
Other R.E.A.D.® press and articles
- Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) Frequently Asked Questions
- Libraries and Schools that ITA R.E.A.D. Teams Visit
- "Tails for Tea"
- R.E.A.D. Training Package a Success!
- R.E.A.D. Program - 'Tails From The Field'
- READING IS FUN-DOG-MENTAL
- R.E.A.D. Presentations
- R.E.A.D. Associate Programs and Regional Workshops
- ITA Wins Major Award
- Purchase a Lucinda pin and support the R.E.A.D. program!
Press and Articles
A page of references to recent press and articles about Reading Education Assistance Dogs.
Links
Links to other Reading Education Assistance Dogs and literacy resources on the Internet.
R.E.A.D. Photos
Photos of Reading Education Assistance Dogs at work.
R.E.A.D.® Program Contacts:
For more information about R.E.A.D., please contact Intermountain Therapy Animals at 801-272-3439