CLAREMONT — At the Fiske Free Library earlier this year, a young girl was asked if she would like to read to Nala, a 2-year-old boxer, who visits the library with her handler as part of the Read-to-a-Dog program.

“The girl said, ‘I can’t read yet,’ ” Nala’s handler, Vicki Bonneau recalled. “So we gave her a book and she ‘read’ the pictures in the story to Nala.”

It was just one example of how canines are sometimes better than adults at prompting a child to read.

“I would say it is building confidence to read and it builds their self-esteem,” Bonneau said about the program during an afternoon session at Fiske. “There is no judgment from the dog if you stumble or are having a rough time with a word. A dog does not care if you go slow or read the wrong word.”

Nala is a therapy dog and has gone through all of the appropriate training to ensure she will behave around children. Bonneau, who works as a paraprofessional at Maple Avenue Elementary School in Claremont and brings Nala to school, said she was aware of Read-to-a-Dog through Caring Animal Partners, a New London nonprofit. She thought it would be a good fit for Fiske.

Last October, she began bringing Nala to the library twice a month. Nala shares her duties with Ben, a golden retriever, and Arwen, a border collie, on different days. Each child and canine pair read together for 15 minutes.

“She was the power behind it,” Fiske Children’s Librarian Martha DeTore-Woods said about Bonneau.

First up for Nala on a late January afternoon was 4-year-old Barrett Bentley and his dad, Eric. Seated in the corner of the children’s section, Eric Bentley read a couple of books about The Incredible Hulk with Nala laying on a large pillow next to Barrett, who knew a few words in the book and fed the dog some treats.

Anastasia and Vivienne Underhill, who attend Bluff Elementary School, came to the library with their mother, Nicole.

Anastasia read a Magic Ponies book to Nala while holding her paw. She scratched under her chin and fed her a few treats. As Anastasia’s 15 minutes ended, Nala rested her head on Anastasia’s lap and closed her eyes.

“I have been doing it since November,” Anastasia, 11, said after her reading session. “I like sitting with Nala. She likes the food and is a good listener.”

Vivienne read Nala “The Couch Potato,” by Jory John. She won the boxer’s affection with treats and occasional pets.

“She is cute, and there are so many things I like about her,” Vivienne, 7, said.

Bonneau said the program allows many children contact with a pet that they may not otherwise have in their lives.

“I find a lot of kids are unable to have a pet and have that bond with a pet,” Bonneau said. “The kids who read to Nala take to her well.”

DeTore-Woods said they assessed the popularity of the program and knew one dog twice a month was not enough. Caring Animal Partners volunteers Susan Fletcher brought Ben and Sandraleigh Spreckler brought Arwen to expand the program to three dogs. There are eight 15-minute sessions available each month, with one of the dogs available for an hour twice a week.

“It is popular,” DeTore-Woods said. “I am booked to the end of the month (February) and have kids wait-listed.”

An article in SC Psychological Enterprises by Stanley Coren, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia, reported findings of a study comparing progress of 7- and 8-year-old children reading to an adult or to a dog. Assistance was provided either by an adult reader or the dog’s handler. Coren stated that children with reading difficulties will feel ashamed, lose self-esteem as they struggle and lose their motivation to read when asked to read in front of classmates.

The research team concluded from the study results that “while reading improved in both conditions, the canine-assisted reading support contributed to greater gains in both oral reading and reading comprehension scores than did the adult-assisted intervention,” according to the article.

Latham Memorial Library in Thetford and Enfield Public Library also conduct Read-to-a-Dog sessions.

“I think it is a great opportunity for libraries to have this,” said Kate Minshall, children’s librarian and library director at Enfield Public Library. “We are always trying to engage kids at many different levels, and there are many ways of participating at the library.”

At an early February, one-hour Read-to-a-Dog event at the Enfield library, Francine, a black poodle, and her handler, Mary Anne Levine, heard four readers in grades ranging from first to fourth.

“It was great,” Minshall said. “Francine is loving and affectionate.”

Minshall said a first grader, apprehensive about reading in front of Francine’s handler, had her mother read. But slowly, she began participating and, after the 12 minutes of reading, was eager to sign up for a March reading spot.

Minshall said she wants to keep the program going and will make adjustments as needed.

“We are just trying to get as many kids as we can who want to participate and reach out to as many as we can and tell them, ‘Here is an opportunity, would you like to try it?’ ” she said.

At Latham Library, assistant director Emily Zollo said they began the program late last summer with Dasher, a yellow Labrador. Dasher’s owners, Ray and Mary Chin, are library patrons and bring Dasher to Thetford Elementary School.

Zollo said it has been a success and on a recent Friday in early February there were eight readers for Dasher.

“I’m hoping to get kids interested in reading, particularly kids who are starting to read on their own,” Zollo said. “It is really good practice for kids learning to read, to read aloud, and sometimes kids might be more comfortable reading to a dog.”

An added benefit is new library members for Latham.

“It is a great way to bring people into the library who might not be regular library users,” Zollo said. “We’ve seen some new people, which is always fantastic, and have signed up some new library cards.”

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.