Therapy dogs lend an ear, and more

Molly, a 19-month-old Golden retriever from Pembroke, did just fine, lying on the floor patiently as youngsters read to her as part of a “reading partner’’ program aimed at helping children work on reading skills.

“Kids read much better to dogs than to people,’’ said Jeanne Brouillette of Scituate, who over the past seven years has trained nearly 500 therapy dogs and their owners. “Dogs don’t make faces or cough, and they don’t giggle like other kids if you make a mistake. If you’re looking at ways to encourage kids to read without making them self-conscious, dogs do that.’’

Brouillette, 54, is trained as an educator and counselor, working with children with disabilities. She got into the therapy dog world about 10 years ago, when she took her Golden retriever puppy, Bentley, to work one day and was struck by how children reached out to him and how the big dog instinctively knew to be calm and let them touch him.

She enrolled at a therapy dog training course in Western Massachusetts and Bentley passed all his tests. Brouillette became so convinced of the value of therapy dogs that in 2002 she formed her own nonprofit chapter of the national accrediting organization Dog BONES, or Dogs Building Opportunities for Nurturing and Emotional Support.

“I said I’d be happy if at the end of the year I have 25 members - and I had 75,’’ she recalled. “I was thrilled.’’

More than 490 teams have gone through her training, with about 300 still active, she said. All volunteer their time, as she does, and they provide their services free of charge.

“We have everything from the tiniest Chihuahuas to Great Danes,’’ she said. “We have some dogs that really like the elderly, and some that really like kids. Some have an act and perform, and others just sit on the bed and get patted. I tell people to find out what your dog really likes, and stick with it.’’

Brouillette coordinates the visits. There are other organizations similar to Dog BONES operating in New England, but hers is the only group on the South Shore.

Training starts with an assessment to make sure a dog likes people, is easy-going, and has consistently good basic obedience skills - and that the dog’s owner has basic common sense and control, Brouillette said.

“My idea is you don’t just certify the dog, you certify the team. Who’s on the other end of the leash is just as important,’’ she said.

She then goes over what it’s like to visit people with various disabilities; showing dogs how to approach a wheelchair, for example, and where to sit so their tails won’t get run over by the wheels.

She sends novice teams out with more experienced ones and keeps their first visits short, warning the school or nursing home when beginners are coming.

More experienced dogs can train for the reading partner program, provided they’re comfortable lying on the floor with a child draped over them, Brouillette said.

She works hard to find places that could benefit from the dogs, and tries to match requests with each animal’s skills and temperaments.

“We have a dog who’s deaf - Cotton - who responds to sign language and works with deaf kids. He’s a Jack Russell terrier who’s very energetic and is usually performing. Kids see that the dog can do anything [and think] ‘I can do anything.’

“We have a dog in a wheelchair, a Dachshund named Promise. Sometimes we’ll have a request for a home visit from a kid in a wheelchair, and it’s kind of cool to send a dog with wheels,’’ she said.

Therapy dogs have been dispatched to a special education class at Foster School in Hingham and reading classes in Brookline and Medford. Newton has just asked for a “reading partner’’ program like the one Cohasset did this fall.

The dogs have also been going to Franciscan Children’s Hospital in Brighton, and next month Brouillette is holding a workshop there for staff who want to train their own animals. The animals are also regulars at Boston’s Children’s Museum, especially during disabilities week there, she said.

“Occasionally, we do some therapeutic intervention,’’ she said. “One family contacted us because their child had been bitten and a therapist was working to get over the fear [of dogs] that was well founded. We sent a couple of greyhounds. It worked.’’

Brouillette, who has always had dogs, said part of her motivation is that she can’t imagine life without them.

“When I’m 90 and sitting alone, I hope that someone will bring a dog to me.’’

Johanna Seltz can be reached at seelenfam@verizon.net.