If I were to win the lottery tomorrow and could spend my time and money doing anything I wanted, I'd create a top-notch, nation-wide program of reading therapy dogs. (Does this surprise you? It combines two things I know and care deeply about.) The dogs would visit schools and libraries and bookstores and any places where people and books meet.
These canine tutors have made headlines recently.
Here's a short, cute video from CNN about a golden retriever reading therapy dog. What parent, teacher, or librarian would object to having children learn to read with the help of this fluffy dog?
No one. No one would object. But what if you substituted that golden retriever with another dog? That dog might be a little stockier and a bit more muscular. It might have shorter fur and a stumpier tail. It would have passed the same tests and have the same even temperament as the golden, but what if it just so happened to be a pit bull... and it just so happened to be one of Michael Vick's former fighting dogs?
Well, then, we would have a totally different story. I've told you about Jonny Justice before—one of the Vick-tory dogs that was fostered and adopted by BAD RAP volunteer, Cris Cohen. After lots of training and assessments, this paw-some dog became a reading therapy dog with a program called" Paws for Tales" in California. In fact, Jonny was going to be featured "at work" on a PBS special about the former Vick dogs and their successes. The PBS crew planned to tape Jonny at a read-a-thon event at a local library until a librarian had a change of heart— no pit bulls allowed, she said. And it wasn't just Jonny she was talking about. It was all pit bulls on the reading dog therapy team. Cris tried to convince the librarian otherwise. He showed her that California law prohibits breed discrimination. So what did the librarian do? She cancelled the event all together. This has left the folks at BAD RAP to ask whatever happened to not judging a book by its cover. To read more about what happened, check out Jim Gorant's article in Parade, No Justice for Jonny.
If the librarian had changed her mind, it would have been a win-win for all—the kids and their teachers and parents, as well as the dogs and their handlers. Jonny could have continued to debunk breed stereotypes in the minds of adults and prevented stereotypes from ever forming in minds of children.
So, Jonny, in my lottery dream world, you'd be my ace. You'd be my right-hand man, my sidekick, my #1. Of course, this all hinges on me winning the lottery. And winning the lottery means playing the lottery, and I really can't justify throwing away money like that when it could be spent on other things—like rawhides or a honeymoon. In the mean time, I wonder if there's any scholarly research out there about reading therapy dogs. If all else fails, perhaps that is my life's calling...
I have referred to The Lost Dogs in this blog before, but I haven't done it nearly enough justice. Written by Sports Illustrated writer Jim Gorant, The Lost Dogs documents the recovery and rehabilitation of the dogs from the Michael Vick dogfighting case.
This is not a canned "Marley and Me" tale.
This is not a mindless, beach read.
This is not an easy read by any means. In fact, I had to put it down one night because I was literally nauseous.
Above all else, this is a MUST read. It's one that will likely make you question our celebrity-worshipping culture, our justice system, and the stereotypes against pit bulls. More over, it will make you believe in the resilient spirit of animals and the people who work to save their lives on a daily basis.
Within this book you'll find layers and layers of stories—from the details of Vick's dogfighting operation to the heart-wrencing tales of the dogs and their progress. For an overview of some of these stories, watch this PBS segment called, "The Dogs Are Alright."
The story that struck me the most was that of Cris Cohen, featured in the above video, who fostered a number of the Vick dogs.
Cohen devoted himself wholeheartedly to rehabilitating one dog aptly named Jonny Justice. Jonny made a lot of progress in Cohen’s care and was moved on to another foster family so that Cohen could work with a more troubled dog from the Vick case. But Cohen struggled when Jonny left.
“Every time he [Cohen] took on a foster he gave a piece of himself away. It was impossible to do what he did without forming a close bond with the dog. The animal itself was less accepting of training if it didn’t feel a certain closeness and eagerness to please the trainer. In the past, that bond had always faded over time for Cohen. He figured the same thing would happen with Jonny, but it wasn’t. Just the opposite. He felt like he missed Jonny more and more as time went by…
He knew that taking in a second dog full-time meant the end of fostering… He would say, 'Every one I keep is one more that ends up dying in the shelter.' In other words, giving up one gave him the opportunity to save another. Giving up those opportunities to help was itself hard for him to accept.”
Luckily, Cohen found a way to adopt Jonny and still foster another dog simultaneously. In my opinion, it's people like him who deserve the NFL's MVP award this year.
On the day that I finished this book, I did two things. First, I went to the local rescue group and signed up to foster. I knew that, like Cohen said, it would mean giving away a piece of myself. And I liked that idea.
Second, I emailed the author to thank him for sharing this story and to ask for some additional information. I know that the teens who read magazines I write for need to hear this story. They literally NEED to hear it. Some of them may be thinking about dogfighting or, worse yet, may have been involved in dogfighting. Equally as important, some of them are our next generation of Cris Cohens. They need to know that this work matters. It really matters.
If you haven’t read this book yet, please go buy yourself a copy, download the Kindle edition, listen to the audio book, or find it in your local library. Hell, I'll even lend you my own copy. But I want it back, because it's one of those staples that will remain on my bookshelf for a long, long time.
As some of you know, I'm a children's writer by day and dog-foster parent by night. I'm working on an assignment right now that merges my two worlds. It doesn't feel at all like work to me, but, ironically, it's not easy to write about. It's an article about dogfighting for teens.
I interviewed one young man who was on the verge of fighting his pit bull, Elmo, but changed his mind after intervention from the HSUS End Dogfighting Program. He lived in a Chicago neighborhood where street dog fighting was rampant and was just nine years old when he first went to a dog fight.
My next interview is this afternoon with John Garcia from Best Friends. [Lady friends who love dogs, this is where you get jealous. Very, very jealous.] If you've seen Dog Town, then you know who he. He was very influential in the rehabilitation of the Vick-tory dogs at Best Friends. Wish me luck!
Oh, and if you haven't seen this yet, check out this letter from Best Friends in response to President Obama's comments praising Michael Vick's second chance. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you just lost my vote, Mr. President.
A blogger I follow posted a link that I just have to share. It's a commentary by Nils Lofgren on espn.com about how Michael Vick has found himself back in the spotlight, worshipped by millions of fans despite his despicable crimes against animals.
