In Ufa, the capital of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, also known as Bashkiria, statistics show that around 2500 children have health issues.

However, with a poorly developed infrastructure of social institutions, there is little support for them or their personal development. They are at high risk of becoming isolated and having fewer opportunities and a lower quality of life than their peers.

Fortunately, there is a solid network of libraries, coordinated by the municipal library of Ufa. Driven by the motivation to improve the current situation and help children in need, the library was keen to find innovative and effective ways of providing help to these particularly vulnerable members of the community.

The library staff chose canistherapy, an alternative method to support children with disabilities which is gaining popularity around the world. This is a supportive therapy that uses work with dogs as a form of treatment. It has been proven that spending time with dogs has positive effects on people’s mental, physical, social, and overall health.

Drawing on its special role as a social community institution, the library launched the project in 2016 in collaboration with dog-lovers from a youth club called “Kind Hands” and gave it the name «Canistherapy. Reading to Dogs». For the local community this is a unique project and a first for Bashkirian libraries.

The project concentrates on providing assistance to children with mental health issues, such as speech and language disorders, mental abnormality or autism, to acquire new communication skills.

The first participants were 18 pupils from the ninth grade of a school for children with special needs. The library has been cooperating with the school for a few years providing different services to these children. The pupils have difficulties with verbal communication as well as language development, and face particular obstacles in reading.

During the lessons, children learn how to communicate with a dog by reading books to them. This allows them to develop their skills for communicating with people.

The project has been running for two years and training sessions are held once a week. During the first lessons, the dog owners explain to the children how to behave around dogs. Children are then given an overview of the different breeds.

A teacher from the school for children with special needs notes that at the beginning children used to be afraid of any communication with people. However, after a few sessions “…children are not afraid anymore, their reading and colloquial abilities have significantly improved to a level where they can freely communicate even with strangers”. Canistherapy fosters a humane attitude to animals and as a result, to people too.

The project has also helped families who are unable to afford private treatment as the services offered at the library are free of charge. In addition, by taking part in the project, the child benefits from a supplementary education which can help guide their future professional development.