You're Going to Love Everything About This Program Involving Children and Dogs

This is quite possibly the most clever — and adorable! — way to encourage children to practice reading. The Humane Society of Missouri created the Shelter Buddies Reading Program where kids can perfect their reading skills without feeling intimidated or judged. But that's not the only beneficial part of the program. Shelter dogs that have been mistreated or abused are not generally acclimated to humans, and having this type of interaction with children has proven to make them less timid and anxious.

Children ages ages six to 15 can choose to bring their favorite books from home or pick from a collection at the shelter. In reading to the pups, the kids also learn to understand the perspective of dogs in a shelter environment and how to read their body language.

"These dogs, if you had seen them before the kids sat down, these were the dogs who would stay at the back of their kennel, scared," JoEllyn Klepacki, the assistant director of education at the Missouri Humane Society, told ABC News. "We know that dogs that approach the kennel front get adopted more quickly, so they are helping these dogs get a home."