For five-year-old rescue dog Atlas, listening to Grade 3 students read at Prairie Waters School is the highlight of his week.
“He loves coming, this is his favourite thing in the world,” said Atlas’ owner Sheldon Davis.
The pair volunteer at the school as part of the Chestermere Therapy Dogs Society’s (CTDS) Listening Tails program.
Listening Tails is a six-week program that sees young children read to a CTDS therapy dog once a week for 15 minutes.
According to CTDS, by reading to the dogs, children are able to grow in their confidence and reading skills with “non-judgmental listeners.”
Working as a therapy dog comes naturally to Atlas who helps relieve his owner’s stress and anxiety.
Davis describes all his pets as his therapy companions and he theirs.
“All our pets have been rescues and have come with baggage and emotional problems of their own that had to be handled completely different from each other,” he said.
Atlas and Davis’ other pets help him to manage his severe anxiety and depression that are a result of brain damage he suffered in a motorcycle accident in 1998.
“My dogs are very intuitive and sense trouble building before I am even aware that I’m getting excited,” said Davis.
His dogs will come and crawl into his lap, try to give him kisses and cuddles to help him calm down.
“That’s my cue to breathe, relax and take control of the situation,” he said.
Davis said that the simple physical contact with his dogs can have amazing effects on anxiety and stress. He describes it like a wave of relief that washes over him.
“The headaches and pain from other injuries softens a little and you feel safe in that moment and the thoughts that had you panicking just minutes ago don’t even matter.
“I can carry that relief with me for quite a while afterwards as well,” he said.
Atlas has the same effect on the children when they read to him during Listening Tails.
“I see that same melting and relief in the kids as well,” said Davis, “You can tell pretty quickly if a child is actually having trouble reading or if they’re stressed, anxious or frustrated.”
One instance that stands out in his memory was a little girl that participated in Listening Tails a couple of years ago.
Davis said that this girl was struggling with each word as she read.
“Then I see her hand reach out for Atlas’ paw.
“As soon as she started rubbing his paw the words started flowing effortlessly,” he said.
Experiences like this are common in the program and makes volunteering a wonderful experience.
“That’s a reward I hadn’t planned on when starting this journey,” said Davis.
It is in these instants of connection and calm that Davis said he feels stress relief that can stick with him for days afterwards.
Even before he started volunteering, programs such as Listening Tails held a special place for Davis
Davis was born with a treatable form of deafness in both ears. After several surgeries, he gained the ability to hear at age three.
“I think it took nine operations on one ear and seven on the other before I was back on track but I was way behind,” he said.
In school, reading aloud terrified him. When students where alternating reading paragraphs in class, Davis would count the kids and then the paragraphs to find out which one he would have to read.
“I’d read it over and over as many times as I could before my turn came,” he said.
“I wouldn’t even hear the other kids I was panicking so bad,” said Davis, “When my turn came I’d take a deep breath and race through it as fast as I could.”
He knows it wasn’t a good method for reading but it got him through most days at school, the only trouble coming when he miscounted and practiced the wrong paragraph.
When he first heard of a different visiting reading program 21 years ago Davis said “all I could think is I wish that had been around when I was young.”
Ever since then he wanted to be a part of a program like that.
Three-years-ago, when his wife showed him an ad for CTDS Davis jumped at the chance to finally be part of a therapy dogs program.
He believed that Atlas would make an excellent candidate and the pair have been volunteering ever since.
“My boy has not let me down, in fact he makes me look darn good,” said Davis.
The whole Davis family now volunteers with CTDS in the various programs that they offer.
When Atlas and Davis started with Listening Tails he thought they would be working with children that could read well enough and just need practice.
“I had no idea we would be working with kids learning English as a second language and starting at the beginning or kids like me who were way behind,” said Davis.
He was stressed out at first to actually help teach the kids to read but now has settled into the role helping to teach the kids when he visits them at their school.
Prairie Waters School Child Development Advisor Rachael Lehmann helps to facilitate the Listening Tails program at the school.
She said that all the students who take part in Listening Tails show huge improvements at the end of it.
“It’s uncanny the difference in the students when they’re done.
“It’s noticeable just in their ability to read out loud,” she said.
The students look forward to their turn to read to Atlas each week.
“A lot of times they don’t even need a reminder,” she said, “as soon as they see my face they know that I’ve come to get them and they run for their book boxes.”
Grade 3 Student Kalan Bell is one of the students in the current six-week program at Prairie Waters. In that time, Lehmann said he has made huge steps.
The biggest change is in his willingness to read aloud in class.
Beyond his reading abilities, Bell has also faced and overcome his fear of dogs.
Davis said that Bell “was scared of dogs when he started but now he pets Atlas, feeds him and shakes his hand.”
Bell still prefers to sit in a chair when he reads instead of cuddling with Atlas like many of the other kids do when they read.
All the students’ love reading to Atlas who loves listening to them.
“Atlas loves his kids and looks forward to every visit,” said Davis.
When they volunteer, Davis said Atlas becomes very excited.
“On the days he knows we’re coming listening…he gets so excited,” said Davis.
“That morning as soon as the alarm goes off he’s up and beside the bed just wiggling and…ready to go,” he said.
Atlas sticks close to Davis to be sure that he doesn’t leave for the school without him.
Another benefit of volunteering is that Atlas, who has some anxiety troubles of his own, also receives some therapy.
Atlas’ anxiety problems manifest mainly around adults and strangers, which can cause him to shake as he enters the school. He settles right down as soon as the kids arrive to read.
“He gets as much out of it as the kids get out of it,” said Davis.
When the students find out that as a rescue dog Atlas was alone as a puppy and has his own fears and anxieties just like them they become very caring.
“They get very protective of him and go out of their way to make him feel loved and safe,” said Davis.
Those feelings of safety and care stay with Atlas for the day.
“He smiles, wags and prances around the house like he’s King for the day,” he said.
Lehmann said that the kids are really proud to be in the program.
“When they get to come back into the class, the pride that they get to take in being able to say I got to participate…There’s just so much enthusiasm and joy that comes from it,” said Lehmann.
