Star Bright Therapy Dog of The Month
Star Bright Therapy Dogs features one of our visiting teams on a regular bases. Check back often for our latest featured team.
This month Star Bright Dogs is proud to feature Grace Kelly, a black Labador Retriever and a one of Star Brights most dedicated dogs. She loves visiting and reading with the children at the Morning Side Library in Port St Lucie. She is loved by all. Grace Kelly is a certified therapy dog through The Delta Society. Grace Kelly and her handler Laurene have faithfully served in the Waggin' Tales Reading Program at the the Morningside branch. every Wednesday. Laurene and Grace are winter residents and live in Hobe Sound Florida traveling to all Starbright Events including most recently Sundaes in the Park sponsored by the Literacy Coalition of St Lucie County. They are great volunteers doing what ever is asked of them.
Congratulations to Laurene and Grace on being the Star Bright Dogs Dog of the Month
Visiting people in nursing or other medical facility with our dogs can help people feel less lonely, and less depressed. Visits from dogs can provide a welcome change from routine, or the renewal of old friendships. People become more active and responsive both during and after visiting with animals. An animal visit can offer entertainment, or a welcome distraction from pain and infirmity. People often talk to the dogs, and share with them their thoughts and feelings and memories. These visits provide something to look forward to. Stroking a dog or cat can reduce a person's blood pressure. Petting encourages use of hands and arms, stretching and turning.
One of the biggest efforts by the Star Bright Dog teams is the Waggin' Tales Reading Program with the St Lucie County Library System. The Reading Program is designed to help children increase their reading skills. Common issues faced by many challenged children who, in addition to other problems, have had difficulty learning to read. These kids often have low self-esteem, lack confidence, find the tasks that they need to do to recover difficult, and are often intimidated and anxious in the presence of adults. These kids are able to relax and become less anxious when reading to a Star Bright Therapy Dog. They are able to focus on their reading, and find reading fun, which results in improved reading scores and improved self-esteem. This type of program demands a lot of the Star Bright teams. The handler and the dog must enjoy working with children – especially those who are at risk. The handler has to be flexible and ready to improvise; these visits are unstructured so the handler must be comfortable in such a setting. The handler must also be willing to learn basic techniques for teaching literacy, and, of course, should love to read. It is a must that the dog member of the team be comfortable with kids and not be stressed by crowds of children shrieking, petting, and hugging it. The noise level is often dramatic when working with children. Finally the animal needs to be able to lie quietly by the child while being read to.
Before a handler and dog team can participate in any of the Star Bright programs they must go through an extensive training and evaluation process. Once complete, the team is eligible to become members of The Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs, Inc. and will receive many benefits including primary accident and liability insurance within the US, therapy dog equipment, post card mailings and quarterly newsletters.
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For more information about the Star Bright Therapy Dogs or the Waggin' Tales Reading Program contact Dorothy Blair our Training Director/Founder by email: dot@starbrightdogs.org