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Miniature horse visits Benton Elementary
Snuggles and Attica, two therapy dogs regularly visit the Bee-A-Reader Program at Benton Elementary once a month but made a special visit this week to Paula Shafer's second grade classroom and brought another friend with them, Cookie, a miniature horse.
The animals were assisted by Carol Parmenter, 4-H Youth Specialist, 4-H member Jessi Snead and Chari Clark, WAGS president. WAGS, which stands for Wonderful Animals Giving Support, is part of the University of Missouri Extension program in Vernon County. The special visit to Benton Elementary was aired on KODE, Channel 12 in Joplin on Friday, Sept. 28.
The students had the opportunity to break into small groups and read to Snuggles, Attica, and Cookie. For Cookie, they chose a special book about horses to read to her. In preparation for their visit, several of the children practiced reading to their pets at home.
Cookie, a 34-inch miniature horse owned by Parmenter, received her WAGS and Delta certification about 4 years ago and is available for visits. Delta is a national organization that offers insurance, promotion, and support for pet-assisted therapy.
In order to be certified, Cookie had to be put through the same tests as the other animals. She was tested for how she reacted to handling by strangers and obedience -- though sitting and laying down were not among the things she was asked to do. She was also tested on her behavior in a crowd and how she responded to loud noises. Cookie passed with flying colors.
"Cookie is 8 years old and she is very inquisitive," said Parmenter.
The students were fascinated by Cookie's slip-on gripper-soled tennis shoes for her hooves. They were also quite amused when Cookie thought the chair and the book looked good enough to eat.
In addition to visiting classrooms, the WAGS volunteers visit residential care facilities. This gives children and the elderly a chance to interact with the animals. More and more research is being done on the effects of pets in a variety of settings. Also, research is showing that children reading to pets helps increase fluency and self-confidence.
According to Shafer, "When you have children, books, and animals together, it is an enjoyable reading situation for everyone."
Parmenter said that the WAGS Program is open to all kinds of domestic animals and that if there is anyone in the tri-county area who has an animal that would enjoy participating in the program, they are welcome to join.
"Obviously, there are some types of animals that aren't suited to this type of thing but any animal that enjoys human interaction and is well behaved can potentially participate," Parmenter said.
For more information about the WAGS program, contact Carol Parmenter at the MU Extension Office at (417) 448-2560, Chari Clark at (417) 448-9086 or Gwen Snead at (417) 321-3259.