In mid-July, a friend introduced me to a very cool program that the SPCA of AA County does as part of its education and outreach. She took Stormy, as well as her kiddos, to the SPCA in Annapolis to read to the shelter animals. Stormy had so much fun! She and her friends didn’t like reading to the dogs, they were too noisy, but she loved reading to the cats. There was one blind kitty that seemed to hang on her every word. When she came home that night, she asked to go again. The program my daughter did was geared for ages 8 and up. I went onto the SPCA’s website to see what else they had to offer as Rainbow was also demanding to be included. I found another program by the SPCA called Bedtime Book Buddies, and I was able to sign up both girls for a Thursday night the following week!
Bedtime Book Buddies is for ages 5-12, and it is held on Thursday nights from 6 to 7pm. You need to arrive between 5:50 and 6 to get checked in. Unlike the Wednesday night program that Stormy attended at the main shelter, Bedtime Book Buddies is held at Paws at the Mall, right near Discoveries: The Library at the Mall in the Annapolis Mall. The program is actually a collaboration between the SPCA and AA County Libraries. You do need to sign up in advance as they only allow 12 attendees, and I will provide the link at the end of this post.
When my girls and I arrived, we were warmly greeted, shown a table of potential books the girls could pick from to read, and then turned loose. At this branch of the SPCA, there are cats, guinea pigs, rats, rabbits, hamsters, and a few birds, but no dogs. Stormy had brought a book, and quickly set out to find a kitty to read to. Rainbow had more trouble selecting her reading choice. She had wanted to bring an Elephant and Piggie book that she could “read,” as she had it memorized, but accidentally left it at home. She asked me how she could read a story without quite knowing how to read. I told her to look at the pictures and just tell a story, something I know she is good at!
Rainbow selected a book, and then wandered around the various cages. She really wanted the cats to interact with her, to watch her while she read, but some were sleeping, some were in cages over her head, and some just ignored her. She headed to the back of the space where she read to a rabbit for a bit, watched the rats and hamsters play, and then asked me why certain animals had red eyes. She said the red eyes were scary! Rainbow soon returned to the cat area, and, when she did, she found that Stormy and few other kids were using cats toys to play with the kitties in their crates. Rainbow had a blast dangling feathers in cages for the cats to bat at.
After a bit, the volunteers running the program asked the kids to put the toys away, and just read as they wanted the animals to settle down for the night. Rainbow had played with one particular cat, and she was happy to give up the toy to read to him. Stormy went to the back area to read to the rabbits and guinea pigs. The hour flew by quickly, and both girls had a lot of fun. They want to come back another time to read to the animals again, and continue their crusade to convince me that a guinea pig would be a good pet for us! We will be back to read, but not adopt. It is an excellent program, free, and a good way for kids to become more confident readers. I highly recommend it! Happy trails!
