After the traumatic events that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, 2012, therapy dogs were brought in to help provide comfort for the grieving children and adults. The dogs sat by the children as they read books to them, petted them and even talked to them. Not only did they provide a calming and peaceful environment for the children, but it helped the teachers too. The family of Charlotte Bacon, a precious little girl that lost her life that horrific December day, saw the comfort the therapy dogs brought to the children, they were convinced their beautiful daughter had something to do with that because she had an immense love for animals, and they decided to start the non-profit organization, Charlotte’s Litter.
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Charlotte on the 1st day of school
Using Therapy Dogs through Charlotte’s Litter
Charlotte’s Litter sets out to advocate for and support appropriate therapy dog programs in educational and societal settings. They do this by helping to connect resources and experienced people, as well as providing input and guidance to parents and educators. Research has shown that the use of therapy dogs helps the physical, social, cognitive, emotional and environmental needs of children. For more information about Charlotte’s Litter and how you can get a program started in your community, visit www.CharlottesLitter.org.
As you can imagine, the Bacon family grieve every single day for their beautiful daughter. In addition to starting Charlotte’s Litter, two books have been published to help provide information about the amazing use of therapy dogs in the healing process.
I had the pleasure of receiving a copy of Good Dogs, Great Listeners: The Story of Charlotte, Lily, and the Litter. This book is a beautiful story of a little girl and her love for her dog. In the story, Charlotte finds herself on many grand adventures with her dog Lily. However, one day, on one of those grand adventures, Lily gets hurt. Charlotte uses her love, imagination and a new found love for reading, to nurse Lily back to health.
Both books are perfect as a stand alone book, but they are also used in conjunction with the Charlotte’s Litter Program.
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