10-year-old Morgan loves to read, and loves animals. Thanks to a program at the Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit shelter in Dearborn, she can combine both of her passions. “You feel like important you know, because they’re all like cuddling up to you, and sometimes playing, and most of them are like really adorable. So, they’re like just playing around and you’re reading and it’s really fun,” Morgan told “Live in the D’s” April Morton.
“The Read to Rover program is very special to us. It not only helps get the kids involved in animal welfare, but it really helps us learn more about the dogs we have here, a lot of the dogs we don’t know where they came from, we don’t know if they ever met kids before. So in a safe and controlled environment we can see how they react,” said Aubrey Cherry, Volunteer Coordinator for Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit.
With the program kids not only get to accompany animals that can sometimes get a little lonely, it also helps them with literacy. “A lot of kids are very nervous reading out loud, but there’s something about reading out loud to an animal. There’s no judgement. There’s no fear, and a lot of them really get into it,” Cherry said.
For the entire interview and more information about the “Read to Rover” program, click the video above.