OLHC pupils give back to the Story Dogs who help boost their reading skills

Each week for the past few years, Bryn and his owner Tori have visited OLHC as part of the Story Dogs program to encourage children to read.

On Monday the children repaid the favour, wearing orange (the colour of the Story Dogs program) and bringing in a gold coin donation for the organisation to help train new dogs and handlers.

OLHC curriculum leader Elise Hankin said the weekly visits from Bryn and Tori had been a great benefit to pupils at the school.

"The kids get to develop confidence and have some quiet time with Byrn," Ms Hankin said.

"A dog doesn't judge, doesn't comment and it's really nice for children to develop their reading confidence while they are hanging out in a nice calm environment."

Ms Hankin said she could see the change in children who have spent time reading to Bryn as they "come back smiling" to the classroom with more enthusiasm for books.

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"They grow so much in confidence. It's great academically for their fluency and expression but it's also nice for them to have the opportunity to connect with an animal and develop confidence around animals."

Sometimes children are selected for "more of a social and emotional need" for quiet time away from the classroom, or those who don't read much at home are given the opportunity to read to Bryn, but children from all year levels are part of the program. Story Dogs has a team of nine dogs and handlers working in schools across the Ballarat region.

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