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About Us
MISSION STATEMENT
The
mission of READing Paws is to improve
the literacy skills of children through the assistance of nationally
registered therapy animal-owner/handler teams as literacy mentors.
READing Paws utilizes nationally
registered animal-owner/handler Therapy Teams who volunteer to go to
schools, libraries and many other settings as reading companions for
children. The utilization of registered therapy teams is the foundation
of
READing Paws, in order to
ensure
that the animals have been trained and tested for health and safety,
appropriate skills and temperament, and have been insured for liability.
Within the READing Paws program, all participating Teams have undergone national criminal background checks to ensure the safety of the children that we serve.
READing Paws is an Affiliate of R.E.A.D. ® (Reading Education Assistance Dogs®) , a program of Intermountain Therapy Animals ® (ITA) of Salt Lake City, Utah. www.therapyanimals.org/read We are honored to be their first Affiliate Program. ITA launched R.E.A.D. in 1999 as the first comprehensive literacy program built around the appealing idea of reading to dogs, and the program has been spreading rapidly and happily ever since!
We're growing! READing Paws is now active in several communities. You can find our Teams actively involved in literacy programs in Central Florida, Georgia, and Middle Tennessee.
READing Paws is a non-profit corporation, federally tax exempt under IRS Code 501(c)3