By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Dogs wagged their tails, kittens purred, and children held paws at the Humane Society of the High Plains Thursday afternoon in a special event that paired kids with animals seeking forever homes.
Read with the Animals was sponsored by the Hays Public Library. Fifty children visited the shelter as part of the event. Registration had to be closed early because of the high demand for limited spots.
"With this particular project, we had two main goals in mind," Amie Tabora, library youth programming coordinator, said. "First, we wanted to bring attention to the animals that were here, of course.
"The main plan on my side was to tell the community they don't need to be an introvert who likes drinking tea and reading encyclopedias to be a reader. You can go out. You can go about. You can read to anything that will listen or not listen."
She said the program allowed some kids to overcome fear or shyness.
"When we had this program last year, I had multiple parents come to me after the program with kids who had hard times talking to adults or just people in school," she said. "They had such a great time reading to the animals because the animals can't judge you."
The event also helped bring awareness and foot traffic to the shelter.
"I enjoyed it," said Georgia Rose Olson, 8, of Hays. "My favorite part was when I got to pet the kittens and hold them. ...
"One of them let me read to them. One of them stayed still enough."
