The SD Gunner Fund has provided the Jacob Grant Community Center of Bryan County with a new canine helper.

 Service Dog Elsie, a female Merle Collie, will assist with the Center’s Therapy Reading program, in addition to providing overall emotional and social benefits to all children who utilize the center.

Service dogs like Elsie have been proven to have a tremendous impact on children’s reading ability and emotional health. Reading aloud to service animals gives children an opportunity to practice reading and oral skills with a comforting and patient partner who won’t judge any mispronunciations. A 2010 UC Davis study found that reading to dog programs can increase fluency in children by almost 30 percent.

“We could not be happier to bring Elsie to the Jacob Grant Community Center,” said SD Gunner Fund President and Founder Britnee Kinard. “Service animals can have a huge impact on children’s confidence when reading, and we’re excited to make this happen for kids in the area.”

The nonprofit SD Gunner Fund was created to assist veterans and disabled children with the financial expense of acquiring much-needed service animals. These animals require a variety of necessary items to perform their service, such as vests, custom harnesses and veterinary care. Service dogs are trained to support individuals with mobility, hearing, psychiatric and bran/neurological disabilities and perform tasks to meet the individual assistance needs of their partner.

The Jacob Grant Community Center supports a variety of programs for children, teenagers, and families in Bryan County.

For more information about the SD Gunner Fund, please visit webjobs.kender.org/sdgunnerfund.