Washington County SPCA Newsletter WINTER 2014 | Page 7

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Paws to Read

Two studies were recently conducted by
UC Davis. They concentrated on third
graders who were exposed to 15 - 20
minute reading sessions with dogs. Both
groups reading fluency improved 12-30%.
As the 2014 school year began, a couple
of interested volunteers reached out to

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school administrators and teachers at Kane
Elementary with an offer to start a reading
program. This reading program had two
goals: to teach children about responsible
pet ownership and to help, through the
assistance of pets, children in need of
reading practice.

Sit! Stay! Lay Down! Shake! These
are all familiar commands to a trained
dog. Many of us share our lives with pets
who listen to what we say and interact
with us on a level past simple commands.
Those interactions are invaluable. Our
pets enrich our every day lives in more
ways than we can imagine. Did you know
there are studies showing that children
can substantially increase their reading
skills by practicing reading to pets?

Aubrey sits in the
library waiting for
reading time (and a
few belly rubs)

Books donated to Opie (see article below)
were given to the school for use in educating
children about shelter animals and general
pet care. Additionally, every week, three
volunteers (two human, one canine) come
to the school to work with third graders who
need more reading practice. Four groups
of two students get the opportunity to read
to Aubrey, a former shelter dog. Aubrey
listens while the children read aloud and
she soaks up the attention.

Interested in supporting this program? Call and see how you can help! 918-336-1577

Opie - The Master of Disaster
Fans Come Through For the Shelter

Opie had a reputation from the time he arrived at his foster home
as a tiny kitten. More often than not, his caring nature gave way
to one form of mischief or another. He was adopted into a loving
home and soon had a following on his person’s Facebook page.
For three years, friends encouraged a creation of a Facebook
page just for Opie. And so it began - in December 2013 - www.
facebook.com/OpieTheMOD was created. Within a few months
he had 10,000 followers.
Rick Wells and team covered Opie on the evening news:
http://tinyurl.com/OpieOn6

Opie The Master of Disaster with his first round of donations.
http://tinyurl.com/OpieInEE

Late one Friday night a video was posted on Opie’s page. The
video showcased a few kittens at the WCSPCA playing with a busy
box. Attached to the video was a request for items needed by the
shelter for the cats and kittens at the shelter. By the next morning,
Opie’s fans started responding. The following week, the shelter
received the items pictured to the left. Bartlesville’s Examiner Enterprise ran a feature story about the quirky cat that had quickly
become one of the WCSPCA’s biggest fundraisers.
The following week Opie was on TV and at present, he has over
15,900 followers - a few of whom send gifts to the shelter every
month. Two of the items on Opie’s Amazon.com Wishlist are
childrens books (see story on page 5). It is because of these books
that the school reading program was started. THANK YOU OPIE
AND YOUR FOLLOWERS! Together we can make a difference!
CHRISTMAS 2014

WASHINGTON COUNTY SPCA

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