Nellie, a 90-pound Great Pyrenees, serves as literacy mentor at Alcova Elementary

Gwinnett Daily Post, Oct. 21, 2014

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She moves like a 90-pound cotton ball, and with a seemingly endless supply of white fur, she sheds like a dandelion.

When she lies down, it’s like a back rest pillow for a host of elementary school students just looking for someone to listen, to lend an open ear as they read their favorite books.

She listens, too, they say, more than some adults, and follows the story of the book.

In the three years that Nellie has visited Alcova Elementary once a week, every student she’s there to read with has improved their reading level, some as many as three levels.

As a registered therapy dog, Nellie, a 9-year-old Great Pyrenees, is trained to help students develop self-confidence and provide a relaxed environment as they improve their reading. But she’s also known to pull a student out of a bad mood, comfort them after their own pet passed away or just be a friend they can pet.

“They so look forward to reading to her,” Alcova counselor Amy O’Neal said. “When she’s not here, it makes a huge difference. They’ve grown up a lot over the last couple of years.”

Known around the school and friendly to all students as she walks to and from classrooms to pick up her readers, Nellie is popular, and the school has adopted her as its pet.

Her owner, Georgia Perimeter College professor Elaine Bryan, said Wednesdays are exciting for Nellie, too. When they turn off Sugarloaf Parkway and drive toward the school, her head pops up as she realizes the school is near.

Bryan and Nellie visit Alcova as part of the READing Paws program, which is an affiliate of R.E.A.D., or Reading Education Assistance Dogs, a program where therapy dogs and their owners go through special training to work with young readers.

“The students who have difficulties reading will tend to not want to read out loud, or don’t have the love of reading at home,” O’Neal said. “What that has done for our students is it has helped them increase their reading level, not to be afraid to read out loud in a small or large group setting. The good thing about it is she has established a relationship with those friends.”

One student was afraid of dogs when he met Nellie two years ago, O’Neal said. Now he leads Nellie down to the table, sits with her, pets her and reads along side of her.

“They tend to be very comfortable in a comfortable setting when they’re reading with Nellie on the floor,” she said.

Alcova fourth-grader Caleb Guy is one of those students who believes Nellie listens to him reading a book, and follows along.

“It makes me more comfortable to read around Nellie,” he said. “Because she’s more calm, and relaxes and enjoys watching us read.”

Nellie also provides an entirely different reading atmosphere for Caleb.

“It feels kind of weird when you’re doing it around other people, because I get really stage fright,” he said. “But with Nellie, I think she understands, and is more calm than she is around other people.”

Bryan, who was introduced to Alcova because she has a cousin who works in the front office, said Wednesdays are important to Nellie, too.

“It’s good to see them grow up,” Bryan said. “It’s not because of Nellie; she’s just a part of it.”