A major factor in the success of all youth in the world is literacy. It is a huge milestone in education when a learner goes from learning to read to reading to learn. The capacity for reading and reading well opens so many doors for our youth. Many studies have concluded that when a youth reads with and to an adult it helps them gain proficiency in reading faster than if they do it on their own. Comparatively, studies have been conducted using stuffed animals to see if a child reading to a stuffed animal would gain as much progress. Interestingly enough, youth reading to stuffed animals progressed slower. But when youth read to a service animal they progress as fast as when reading to a trusted adult, and in some cases even faster.

Enter Foxy and her friend Joyce, a retired teacher. Foxy pre-pandemic was a hit at McKinley Elementary coming in and reading with students. Unfortunately, the program had to come to an end due to the pandemic. This led to the perfect opportunity for Foxy to join the McKinley Boys and Girls Clubhouse. Foxy, a trained service dog, started at the beginning of this school year and has been working with our Club members, twenty minutes at a time, providing a judgment free zone to increase reading proficiency. In the short time that Foxy has been working with our youth, and with the help of Joyce of course, Club members have had areas of growth identified. Taking the information we have learned from Joyce we have been able to get reading materials through the School’s reading interventionist to help our members reading more effective at Club. While it’s only been a short time that Foxy has been at the McKinley Clubhouse, we have already seen the benefit of youth reading to a service dog. Given this success, we look forward to seeing the continued impact of these new team members!