TAMPA – A unique program at Memorial Middle School brings together students and their four-legged friends for a lesson in responsibility, empathy, and life skills.
It’s called Kids and Canines, and while many may know it as a reading program where children read to dogs, there’s another side to it, one that’s helping middle school students train and care for these lovable pups.
“It’s fun. I like it,” said eighth-grade student Melay Paneca Moya.
“We love the fact that the dogs are being trained by the kids,” said Kelly Hodges, Executive Director Kids and Canines. “It really takes us steps ahead on them getting used to the classroom environments and to the children’s behaviors.”
Along with basic training, students also take care of the dogs, feeding them, grooming them, and making sure they’re happy and healthy.
“It’s just because I love dogs” said Moya. “I actually have dogs in my home and I live my whole life with dogs, so I like I love that.”
“In this program, we take them through 12 weeks, and each week is added training cues,” said Hodges. “And then, eventually, they’ll start working on the behaviors of the dogs or getting the dogs ready to work in the reading programs.”
And while the students are helping to train the dogs, the dogs are teaching the students just as much about responsibility, kindness, and the importance of second chances.
“What we find is that when a child is about two years or further behind in reading, the schools will call us. And it does a great job of getting those children comfortable in a nonjudgmental environment, and their reading comprehension improves,” Hodges explained.
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