Pet Partners

Megan and her therapy dog Rumble have only been registered with Pet Partners since October 2022. Since then, they have been actively visiting at a local elementary school conducting Read With Me™ visits regularly. Our Read With Me initiative encourages people learning to read to practice with a therapy animal because research shows that children who may be hesitant to read with an adult or guardian are able to practice more confidently when reading with a therapy animal who provides a nonjudgmental presence. “Rumble and I had four small groups of students read to him, each taking turns reading a page out of their book. These kids seemed really excited to read to Rumble and then would pet him while waiting for their turn again. It was a great session and we are starting to really hit our stride together.” Although this visit started out like the other Read With Me visits they’ve done, it took an unexpected turn. “I talked to the teachers afterwards and they are all excited to have us there and are already seeing some small changes in their students. That’s when this one child came up at the end of the session and asked if he could just sit and pet Rumble. As he was stroking Rumble’s fur, he told me about how his grandfather had passed away last week and he was very sad about losing his grandfather. I think he needed the extra minutes with Rumble and we chatted about his grandpa for a few minutes before we had to go. I’m glad we could be there.” When our teams visit a facility, they typically have an idea of how the visit will go; but because our therapy animals create an atmosphere of comfort and openness, many unexpected emotions may also arise. Megan and Rumble were not expecting to support a little boy who is grieving his grandfather, but the unconditional love that Rumble offers ended up being just what this child needed.