Monday, July 2, 2018

CNS Staff Appreciation Day at UT

The Pit Crew was invited to be in the "relaxation room" at the second annual CNS Staff Appreciation Day. For those who don't know I work for CNS (College of Natural Science at UT), so this was a busy (but very fun) day for me.

Wichita got to come to work with me and get a puppuccino on the way to the office. He and Roo both love puppuccinos, they start licking their lips (or noses) when they see me walk out the door with the cup in my hand.

Since I was being appreciated too, I got to go do an origami class. Wichita was super good and waited patiently while I folded paper.

Then it was Pit Crew time. Wichita loves attention and couldn't have been happier with new people coming to pet him every few minutes for 2 hours. He was a hit on the instagram page too #cnsstaffday18 




OWL summer reading program

Roo did this program last year and Wichita did it this year. This is a really cool program, most of the kids who attend the OWL Reading Camp are immigrants who are learning English, I'm not sure about this year, but last year, I know a few of them were refugees from Syria. 
Some of the kids are a little bit afraid of dogs, so I would sit between Wichita and the kids who were nervous. Some of them wanted to pet Wichita by the time they were finished reading, others were still a little too nervous to pet him.

The first week, most of the kids read Wichita's story to him. A few times when the kid got to the part where "Wichita met a volunteer named Heather...she took him home to meet her family" the kid would look at Wichita, look at me, smile, and say, "wait...are you Heather?"

We had an interesting encounter the second week. We were waiting for the kids and three women in the lobby area were saying hi to Wichita (2 of the women met him the first week). After petting Wichita, making kissy noises to him, and telling him how sweet he is, the new woman said, "there are still breeds I would never have, like pit bulls" I responded politely "Wichita is a pit bull" She was shocked and said "REALLY?" I replied, "yep, he's a rescue, but his genetic test says he's 100% American Pit Bull Terrier" The third woman said to Wichita, "you're just breaking down stereotypes right and left, aren't you". Later, I overheard the first woman telling the new woman that pit bulls are usually very sweet & cuddly, and the new woman said "I had no idea"
The first week this little girl was afraid to pet Wichita, but by week two, she was totally up for giving him some post reading love.

 I'm not sure Wichita was impressed with Spiderman
 Ms. Bridget gives great ear rubs!
 This little boy was absolutely in love with Wichita
And Wichita took full advantage, flopping over on his side for better ear rubbing access while reading.
The boy even gave him a kiss goodbye

I hope we can do the OWL reading camp again next year. It's an assignment that caters to some of the higher need kids, so it's really rewarding and the staff is great too.


Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Andy Roddick Summer Learning Program


At the Andy Roddick Summer Learning Program, Tuesdays after lunch is "reading with a dog" time. The kids partner up and then each group takes turns reading to Wichita. The timing is great for me, because I can volunteer during my lunch break. The kids really love Wichita, we've gone 3 weeks now and have been in a different classroom each time. The first week the kids met Wichita and immediately asked "is he a red-nosed pit bull?" I didn't know that until I read everything I could find about his coloring...how on Earth did a few 9 year old know that? The second week one of the teachers called Wichita an "angel baby sent from heaven". The third week, a kid asked "is he trained?" I said yes and gave a few examples. The kids asked "can we see?" I had Wichita sit, down, come, stay, and when I walked back to him, I threw him a treat which he caught in mid air. The kids (and teachers) applauded. Wichita loves the attention from all the kids. 








Oak Springs Elementary aka Roo's school

Roo's second on-going therapy dog assignment is at Oak Springs Elementary. At Oak Springs the reading program is targeted toward kids who have been diagnosed with dyslexia. Reading to Roo motivates them to reach their reading goals and helps them see that reading is fun. Roo loves going to Oak Springs and since he has a specific group of kids there, he's gotten to know them really well. Roo is very popular and well loved at Oak Springs, so much that we got our picture on the wall with the staff!
Roo and me on the wall at Oak Springs
Roo also knows the Oak Springs principal Ms. Woods really well.

Roo with Principal Woods
A few pictures from reading at Oak Springs:




I think Roo misses Oak Springs this summer and I know he'll be so happy to go back when school starts again.

Little Walnut Creek Library

A few of the coloring pages of Roo kids have colored while waiting to read.
The Little Walnut Creek Library was Roo's first on-going therapy dog assignment, we began going in Sept. 2017. We go every Wednesday from 4:30-5:30. Roo loves his library and he's developed quite a crew of regular readers. Since the library isn't a targeted program with goals for each individual reader, we keep it pretty flexible. Sometimes, if the child is too young, I read to him/her instead of him/her reading to Roo. We also have a lot of Spanish speaking kids (and parents) so I get to practice my first grade level Spanish, and frequently have to ask parents or older siblings for help.
The managing librarian made publicity for Roo's reading days
Roo with his sign at the libary
A few of our favorite pictures from "Roo's library"