Fletch lends a paw to help children learn to read

With Gov. Jim Pillen set to proclaim September as National Service Dog Month, as he has the past two years, the spotlight is on human/canine teams like Aurora’s Laurel Marlatt and her therapy dog, Fletch. Marlatt got Fletch in February from the organization Canine Companions for Independence which has provided free service dogs for those in need for the past 50 years.
As an extension of its main mission, Canine Companions also started a therapy dog program several years ago. 
Marlatt, who serves as the director of the Fullerton Public Library, said one of her goals for Fletch is to help children learn to read.  
“One of the reasons why I got the therapy dog is because he’s going to go with me on Mondays,” Marlatt said. “Kids can sign up to come read with him after school at the library.
She said since 1975 the nonprofit has matched over 8,200 service dogs with people in need.
“They give dogs for free to adults, children and veterans that need assistance,” she said.
Marlatt explained Canine Companions breeds labrador and golden retriever puppies in California before they fly them out to volunteer puppy-raisers across the country when they are eight weeks old. Once they are 16-18 months old, they are given to professional trainers for six to nine months who will determine if the dogs will be service dogs, therapy dogs, facility dogs or if they will be released.
Marlatt’s family was first introduced to Canine Companions when her brother-in-law, Randy, received his free service dog, Landon.
“He was wheelchair-bound and he had neuropathy in his fingers, so he had a hard time holding onto things and he would drop things easily,” Marlatt said.
When Randy drops pens or other items on the floor, Landon is trained to help pick it up and give it back to him.
“He could pick up a credit card, a pen, all of those things off the floor to help Randy and give him some independence he didn’t have before,” she explained.
Marlatt applied to get a therapy dog last September when the program branched out to Nebraska.
“I went through about three questionnaires and I had a 45-minute phone interview before I was on the list,” she said. “They said it could be two weeks or it could be a year.”
After waiting five months, Marlatt and her family picked up their 19-month old golden lab, Fletch, in New Albany, Ohio.
“The younger of my two kids, his favorite movie is ‘Fletch’ with Chevy Chase,” Marlatt said. “When I opened the email and saw the whole dossier about the dog and his name was Fletch, we just knew he was destined to be part of our family.”
To become a certified therapy dog team, Marlatt and Fletch had to go through several practice sessions and pass all of their tests, such as the Canine Good Citizen test, through the American Kennel Club.
“I learned to handle him in a manner that is compatible with Canine Companions,” she said. “When the requirements were completed, we received the documentation and a vest for Fletch.”
While Fletch is 2 years old, Marlatt said “he’s still kind of a puppy, but he’s pretty calm and he enjoys the kids.”
On Saturday, Aug. 30, Marlatt, along with her sister-in-law, Susan, and Fletch attended a health fair at Smash Park in Omaha to represent Canine Companions.
“When we were at that event last Saturday, it was really interesting because they could not pet the dog that my sister-in-law is raising because he hasn’t gone to professional training,” she said. “You don’t know if he’s going to be a service dog yet or not, but you could pet Fletch. It’s a really nice combination that we were there together.”
“Studies show that when kids read to animals, their fluency increases dramatically because they have a non-judgemental audience,” Marlatt said. 
So far the Crete Library is the only place the therapy dog team has visited, but they plan to travel to others as they are invited. 
“Fletch read with some elementary school students who are learning English as their second language, which was really fun,” Marlatt said. “We had three little boys who came in and read to him. They were a little apprehensive at first, but, boy, did they warm up to Fletch as he sat and they read. I think we listened to the same story several times, but it didn’t matter. We were just so happy to be there.”
Marlatt said she and Fletch plan to visit the Central City Library as well as the Edgerton Explorit Center’s after school program later this month. 
She said any institution or business can reach out to her if they would like Fletch to come and visit.
“If people are interested in having Fletch come, it is a simple questionnaire that takes about three minutes, and you submit that to Canine Companions,” Marlatt said. “Once they are approved, we can schedule a visit. Canine Companions approves all locations, as the therapy dogs are covered under Canine Companion’s insurance while the dogs are working.”
And Marlatt is looking forward to Fletch bringing more smiles to children’s faces.
“I feel really blessed and honored that I get to have Fletch and hopefully we can provide comfort (and assistance) to people (in the community and nearby towns),” Marlatt said.
For more information about Canine Companions, visit canine.org.
To contact Marlatt about visiting with Fletch, email at fletchtherapydog@gmail.com.