Jackson a ‘Good Ambassadog’ for Therapy Dogs, Literacy
May 21, 2019
By: Cathy Dyson, The Free Lance-Star
Source: Fredericksburg.com
Beth Skewis is holding lettered flash cards in front of a small dog, asking the pooch to arrange them in correct order.
She makes eye contact with Jackson, mentally willing him to tune out everything else. Then she spreads out five cards between her hands and tells the dog to spell the word, SPLAT, clearly enunciating every sound.
Jackson hesitates for a second—there is a camera on him, after all, and everyone knows that dogs and children sometimes freeze in front of an audience. He paws at her hand, she encourages him again, and in a split second, Jackson delicately grabs the cards, one by one, is his mouth, “S,” then “P,” followed by an “L,” “A” and “T.”