With a book in her hand, Taylor McCoy approached one of the many cats behind glass at Fairfax County Animal Services’ Lorton campus on Tuesday afternoon.
She turned the pages and pointed toward an unnamed orange cat whose paperwork suggested was found as a stray. An orange sign said only volunteers could interact with the animal, so McCoy read through the glass.
A few feet away, Evelyn Currier read to Winston Churchill, a white cat with black spots who nudged the edges of the book as Currier flipped each page. It marked a refreshing departure from time at home or in front of a screen, Currier said.
For a few years, Fairfax County has invited students to read to adoptable pets as part of its Paws & Read initiative. It’s an evolution of a similar program run during evenings throughout the academic year.
So far this summer, hundreds of students have attended the weekly event, which is held on Tuesdays from noon to 5 p.m., according to Reasa Currier, director of Fairfax County’s Animal Services. Aug. 25 is scheduled as the summer’s last session.
“It just helps to really just get a close interaction with an animal and connect with the animal, and just kind of forget about being on your phone and just live in the moment,” Evelyn Currier said.
Signs throughout the facility indicate where students can read to pets. Appointments aren’t necessary to participate in the free event, and the site has books and supplies, including pads for kids to sit on.
For McCoy, a rising high school sophomore, the experience “gives me confidence because everyone around is listening, and also the pets in this shelter are listening too,” she said.
When the program started, Reasa Currier said the animals seemed perplexed. But quickly, they become increasingly comfortable and enjoy the interaction.
“Parents have said that they really struggle to get their children out of their house and off technology,” Reasa Currier said. “The children request to come here, and this is something they look forward to every single week.”
But the animals are benefiting too. Research suggests increased interaction with people boosts a pet’s adoptability, Reasa Currier said. In some cases, kids reading to an adoptable pet end up taking it home.
Students, who in some cases are working through summer reading programs, can read to cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and birds.
Max, a rising second grader, read to Sherbet, a yellow parakeet.
“It’s fun to read to pets,” he said. “You get to read and they’re listening to you.”
While the Paws & Read program is scheduled to end this month, the county’s Reading Tails program, which lets kids read to adoptable pets in the evenings, will resume after the start of the school year.
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