Karma Chameleons Helps Kids and Dogs Grow

March 2, 2017 Deborah Stone

**Ben Jankowitz and Silly Puddy, a Newfoundland Border Collie mix, enjoy a good read.**

Shoshana Rosenblatt is beyond excited. Carrying three books, Shoshana, 6, and her mother, Melissa, have just arrived at the Macks Center for Jewish Education library in Park Heights.

Waiting for Shoshana are two dogs, Kevin and Bentley, and their owners who volunteer for a Parkville-based dog therapy nonprofit called Karma Dogs. The dogs are here to listen while kids like Shoshana practice reading to them.

There are numerous programs in the area that allow children to read to pets. Karma Dogs finds it a great way to help kids overcome reading difficulties.

“Sometimes if a kid is struggling, parents can get frustrated and might tense up or send a message that they are frustrated,” says Kelly Gould, founder and president of Karma Dogs. “The dogs never do that. The dogs don’t judge them.”

Even when a child gets stuck on a word, she says, the dogs can help.

“The volunteer might say, ‘The dog thinks the word is such and such,’ but it will be incorrect. Then the child can correct the mistake and gets to feel like the teacher. It becomes an empowering experience,” Gould says.

Now in its 11th year, Karma Dogs offers reading programs in several locations, and began working with the CJE about six months ago, coming one evening a month.

Rachel Turniansky, the CJE’s director of disabilities and inclusion services, says the program is open to all kids, regardless of whether they have a reading disability, and it’s very successful.

“We’ve definitely had parents who have told us their kids are reading so much more,” she says.

On a recent evening, Shoshana opens a book called “Magical Mermaids,” lies down on the floor next to Bentley, a golden retriever, and quietly
begins to sound out words on each page.

Melissa Rosenblatt says Shoshana used to be a reluctant reader, but looks forward to coming here. Her reading skills have improved, and now “she reads to her cats at home!”

“The dogs are nice, and they’re so cute and soft,” says Shoshana. “I get to pet them while I’m reading.”

Ruth Jankowitz brings her two sons, Ben, 9, and Joe, 7.

“Joe,” she says, “is more willing to read here than at home and has made huge progress.”

Most of the dogs that participate in the program were adopted from shelters and rescue organizations. “We enable rescue dogs to give back by being therapy dogs,” says Gould. “The idea is that these dogs were shown a kindness and they’re paying it back. Hence, the name ‘Karma Dogs.’”

Bentley’s owner, Judi Fishman, is an early childhood education teacher. “It gives me a great deal of pleasure when I see people not only enjoying themselves, but also learning something,” she says of Karma Dogs.

Young readers find a non-judgmental audience in the dogs. Their reading skills improve, and they have fun. They learn lessons in kindness to animals.

As for the dogs? Well, they, of course, get lots of rubs and kisses, their tails wagging in appreciation. And after finding a loving home, they are paying it forward. Karma can be a beautiful thing.

For information, visit cjebaltimore.org or karmadogs.org.

Deborah Stone is a Baltimore-based freelance writer.

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