Everyone likes to hear a good story—even a dog! Many of the dogs that animal shelters take in have had a difficult life and can be nervous around humans. Shelter workers have noticed that reading to these dogs helps them get used to humans in a stress-free way.
At the Humane Society of Missouri in St. Louis, kids volunteer to read to the pups. They can pick the book they want to read and the dog they want to read to. “The most important job of being a shelter buddy is being a friend,” says JoEllyn Klepacki, the director of education at the Humane Society.