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Helping worthy paws
By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE LECANTO -- Judi Volpe said Cyrus was kind of a lazy dog, but that made little difference to the room full of Lecanto Primary School children who had come to see him do his stuff. Volpe, a regional representative for PAWS with a Cause, was visiting the school with her demonstration animal to help kick off a "Paws to Read" fundraiser. The PAWS program trains dogs to assist disabled people, freeing them to enjoy independence that they might not have otherwise had. The dogs, Volpe told the children, can open doors, pick up dropped things, fetch the telephone and bring their owners drinks from the refrigerator. It takes money to train dogs to do those things, though, and that's where Lecanto Primary School came in. The school is collecting pledges that will translate into funds for PAWS if the students reach their goal of reading books totaling 9,000 Accelerated Reading points, explained guidance counselor Coni Young. Accelerated Reader is a motivational program that encourages children to read by assigning point values to books, giving computer tests to gauge comprehension, and providing immediate feedback for positive reinforcement. At the assembly, the children saw Volpe demonstrate how Cyrus can help a disabled person. Volpe sat in a wheelchair and instructed her dog to perform services. Sometimes he was slow, which is why Volpe said he was a little lazy, but the children were impressed by what he did do. There were two more dogs on the stage with Volpe, but they were young and not yet trained. The dogs begin training when they are about 14 months old. Until then the puppies are raised and prepared by living in homes that participate in the Foster Puppy Program. Locally, the 4-Paws 4-H Dog Club raises some of the dogs. Under the direction of Jayne Coy, the club is sponsoring the Paws to Read program at LPS. The children, Volpe said, could help pay for the training of dogs such as Cyrus by reading. Another incentive to read is four stuffed puppies that will rotate weekly to the classes with the most points. Also, Young said, the school will try to keep the momentum going with pizza parties and T-shirts throughout the semester. In one of the hallways, Dan Epstein's, Laura Simons' and Tom Taylor's fifth-grade classes constructed a flat wooden doghouse under the guidance of art teacher Cory Collins. Paw prints down the hallways leading to the house will keep track of progress. Local businesses that have already pledged to Paws to Read are Cemex, Midway Animal Hospital, Crystal Chevrolet-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep and Curtis Transmission Service.
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