Six legs, two reading buddies and an enduring bond

Her fingers began to disappear under the golden fur that started to collect over the top of her small hand. With one hand on her book, the other on a golden retriever named Cabo, 11-year-old Loie James read one sentence after the next, effortlessly.

It was a sunny Monday morning at Old Adobe Elementary Charter School, and today was the day students have been waiting for all month.

“He’s here,” one student whispered as Cabo entered Mrs. McClure’s sixth-grade classroom with his chaperone Donna Forst, from the program Paws For Reading.

Every month or so, Cabo and other dogs just like him visit schools in Petaluma and throughout Sonoma, Solano and Napa counties for one purpose - to sit, get pet and listen as children read aloud to them one by one.

Loie loves when Cabo comes.

“I get so excited when I see my name on the board to go next,” she said moving around in her seat just talking about her reading buddy.

Now, it was her turn.

She sat criss-cross-applesaucse next to Cabo as he laid on his side, tummy up. Loie didn’t stop petting him for even a second as she read from her book, “Twilight.”

“I feel really relaxed when I’m reading to Cabo,” she said. “If I mess up on a word, he’s not gonna judge me. It’s not like reading to a human, where I get nervous. Dogs don’t mind if you take your time with words, they just care if you pet them or not.”

Loie was among sixth-grader after sixth-grader who talked about the ease of reading to a dog and how confident and comfortable they feel. Wendy Fergus, a resource specialist at the school who helps children who need a little more help with reading, talked about Cabo’s ability to grow students’ confidence and in turn, their reading.

“Students who are struggling get nervous in a large group setting,” she said. “They can read to the dog with no judgement and be more vulnerable to take risks and grow and learn as a result.”

Forst found Cabo years ago now, abandoned on the streets of Cabo San Lucas and after some time knew he would be the perfect dog for Paws for Reading. The program falls under the umbrella organization, Paws for Healing, a decade-old program dedicated to providing therapy through animals for those suffering from various illnesses.

Cabo went through a strict training program before he could do this, but now, Cabo loves to lay, listen and help hundreds of students with their reading skills.

One boy, a while back, Forst began to tell, had a surgery which kept him out of school. But when Cabo started to come, the boy found the strength to come to school too.

“It makes the students enthusiastic about reading,” Forst said. “They show him pictures and are convinced he is really listening.”

Even more than enthusiastic, it makes the students happy. One student, Julianna Chavez was waiting for her turn alone with Cabo. She tried concentrating on her work, but her eyes frequently glanced up at Cabo.

“If you’re having a bad day, he can make you smile,” she said. She also talked about the close bond she has created with Cabo, like many of the students have.

“You can understand how you feel and you can understand how he feels,” she said.

At the end of the students’ visit, Forst gave away Cabo stickers, bookmarks and a memory they will never forget.

(Contact Alex Madison at alex.madison@arguscourier.com.)