Among the chaos of a dozen barking dogs, all vying for the attention of those in the room, several children attempted to read to them late last week.
Eventually, many calmed down and enjoyed the interaction with those reading to them at the Boulder City Animal Shelter. The cat room, as expected, was far calmer. But the result was the same — the children got the opportunity to practice reading aloud from books of their choice while the animals received the much-appreciated attention given to them.
This is one of the benefits of the Rainbow Readers, who meet at the shelter monthly.
Devon Tilman, who started the program nearly two years ago, said it began with parents reaching out, asking how their kids could volunteer at the shelter. Most of the parents come along and enjoy seeing the interaction their children have with the animals. In all, they have had more 20 children participate in the program, most of whom come back month after month.
“It’s beautiful because all the kids who are here truly want to be here,” Tilman said. “For the animals, we are trying to get them around kids to socialize them and hopefully get them ready for their next family. For the kids, getting to read out loud is a very good skill to have. Many don’t feel comfortable doing so in the classroom or at home but this gives them a lot of confidence.”
Animal Control Supervisor Ann Inabnitt, who will be retiring this time next week, said she has enjoyed the children coming once a month, almost as much as the animals have.
“I had my first crying session after we started this program when one of the moms reached out on Facebook and she said, ‘My daughter has never wanted to read aloud and I just watched your video of her reading to one of the dogs,’” she said. “That meant so much to me. It was good for the dog and it was even better for the little girl.”
Inabnitt added the program has been beneficial when adopting the animals out to new families.
“I get to see how they interact with children,” she said. “I learn more about them and their behavior. Aside from that, I’ve enjoyed meeting and working with the kids. They’ve been great.”
Misty Combs, whose son Max has read at the shelter many times, said, “I think he feels like his interaction with the animals makes them more social and adoptable.”
Another parent, Dan Widmark, said that his daughter’s counselors have said being around animals is beneficial in helping with her ADHD.
“We came here and talked to Ann and she told us about this program where kids can come and read to the animals,” he said. “This has really helped her (Daria) out a lot because she’s learning things that will benefit her as she gets older.”
Daria added, “I like reading to them to try and calm them down.”
Appropriately enough, the book she was reading is entitled, “A Shiloh Christmas” about a young, rescued beagle named Shiloh who eventually finds his forever home.