Read to a Pet

Reading to Pets 

Our "Read to a Pet" program is for everyone! Whether you are a student or adult, whether you come to the shelter individually or as a small group. You only need to schedule your reading time with us in advance.

Children often feel more comfortable reading out loud to pets, who enjoy listening and the attention and companionship they are receiving. The animals do not judge how well the person is reading. Even when it’s not feasible to read to pets in a structured program, it’s still worthwhile to provide opportunities for people to read with an animal.

Here are some ideas for reading to pets:

• You could set up a family reading challenge, where each person pledges to spend time reading each day or week to a shelter pet.
• Students could make a pledge with friends, choosing to read the same book at home with your pets and with shelter pets.
• Adults could just read the newspaper or pledge to read with pets as part of a book club. It could be the motivation you need to take some downtime.