Reactions ranged from quiet, cautious observation- from a distance and holding a teacher's hand, to enthusiastic hugs, the last from a little girl whose household includes several Rottweilers.
Along with two other KPETS teams, we visited the preschool at the local JCC. We went to the toddler room where we were in a separate room with child sized couch and chair and a regular rocking chair and given a book to read to them. A teacher, also a dog-lover, brought in 2 or 3 children at a time. We introduced them to River and encouraged them to greet him. For some we read a book while they petted him, a few others "read" to River; with others we just talked about River. Lastly we had all of the class seated on the floor and River performed tricks with his usual enthusiasm.
Most of the children seemed to enjoy visiting with the dogs and I know the adults did as well, as many of the staff made certain they got at least a peek at all three dogs of our handsome dogs. (Heather's Romeo,collie & Karen's Max, Golden completed the trio). It was refreshing to see such enthusiasm for what seems to me just a few minutes with a dog. I hope we were able to brighten a few days, provide a few conversation starters and who knows what else might come from our simple visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment