Shelter Buddies program brings cats, humans together through reading
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — For cats, life in a shelter can be crushingly lonely as they wait for the lucky day when some family may come to take them to a new home.
Twice a month, the Butler County Humane Society provides its felines with a much-needed dose of companionship in the form of the Shelter Buddies program, where children come into the shelter to read to the cats.
“My daughter's in first grade and she's learning to read, and she loves animals,” said Crystal Lumley, who brought her six-year-old daughter, Brooke. “I thought it'd be a great thing for her to do.”
“Ella loves animals and she loves to read, so it was a perfect fit,” said Sarah Heichel, who brought her seven-year-old daughter, Ella.
“It was really, really, really good,” Ella said of the experience.
The program is open to students in first through eighth grade, and they must be accompanied by an adult while they are with the cat.
According to BCHS executive director Cari Ciancio, the Shelter Buddies program offers great benefits for both the children and the cats. For the children, Ciancio believes the program helps develop reading and socialization skills, especially for kids who are shy or reluctant readers.
“If kids are shy, they may not want to necessarily read a lot in class,” Ciancio said. “This is something that could help their reading skills and help them become more confident in their reading skills.”
Ciancio said the cats are grateful for the human companionship, and — like the children — they may also receive some long-term benefits from the experience.
“The cats absolutely love it,” she said. “It helps our cats become more socialized and get some additional attention during the day. All that helps them eventually get adopted and find their ‘forever home.’ So it’s a program that helps both the kids and the cats.”
While the Humane Society does have some books on hand, most families bring their own from home. The Lumley family brought “Dr. Seuss’s ABC,” two books from the Pete the Cat series, and a storybook based off Disney’s “Tangled.”
“They might bring a favorite book that they want to share with the animals,” Ciancio said. “But we also have books available if they need a book to read.”
To make the environment as safe as possible for both humans and felines, the Humane Society typically allows only one cat to be read to at a time. However, there are some exceptions.
“If it's kittens, we’ll usually put two or three kittens in a room. But if we have adult cats, it’s usually only one,” Ciancio said. “We don't always know if cats are good with other cats, so we’re only going to put one cat in there or we might have a fight.”
Because of this, there is a limited number of slots available for each Shelter Buddies session, and they tend to go fast. In fact, Shelter Buddies has become such a popular program in Butler County that BCHS recently extended it from two to three hours.
“If people are interested, they should call in as soon as possible and try to register for a slot or time,” Ciancio said.
The next Shelter Buddies session is scheduled for Sunday, April 7, and there will be another one on Sunday, April 21. All sessions take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
