A real-life underdog listens to children read two times a week for a learning program at Four Peaks Elementary School in Apache Junction.
The students pick any book and read during the session to Sharon Steigmann’s golden retriever, Toby. Steigmann also passes out pictures of the dog so children can read to Toby at home.
“The goal is to get them to want to read and get away from TV and videos,” Steigmann said. “We’re there to motivate children to read, and one of the greatest motivations is to read to a dog.”
The program creates excitement for the students, Four Peaks principal Joyce Gingrich said.
“It is the simple idea that he lies quietly, listening to them that is the real draw,” Gingrich said. “He is totally nonjudgmental, and it is a totally nonthreatening environment for them.”
Toby, now 7, was labeled a destructive dog after an animal shelter rescued him at younger age, Steigmann said. She added that he has lived in a couple of foster homes, was involved in a vicious dogfight, and shattered his teeth after being tied to a yard with nothing but rocks.
Steigmann said she took Toby in after he was close to being euthanized two years ago.
“When I took him in, he laid around like a piece of furniture,” Steigmann said. “He didn’t know what to do with toys.”
A trip with Toby to Daybreak Adult Day Health Care Center, where Steigmann had done previous work with another dog, changed everything for Toby, she said.
“One day, I brought Toby down to the health care center, and his eyes lit up and was thrilled,” Steigmann said.
Steigmann taught Toby commands, got him certified with the American Kennel Club, and as a certified therapy dog through Therapy Dogs, International out of New Jersey within seven months of having the dog, she said.
Kids at Four Peaks have been reading to Toby since January 2005, Steigmann said.
“We are seeing steady growth in our reading scores here at Four Peaks,” Gingrich said. “Students reading to Toby is just one of the components we are utilizing in addition to small groups within the classroom and students working in other small groups with qualified reading instructors and aides.”
On Sept. 20, Toby will be one of five golden retrievers to receive a Golden Retrievers and Community Excellence award from a local group called Rescue a Golden of Arizona.
