I THINK what they are doing is a really brilliant idea. A lot of volunteers can be quite full-on when they go in to kennels.

They think they should be stroking and hugging the dogs and making a big fuss of them, but for a lot of dogs in rescue, that's really quite scary.

Suddenly, there will be this person they have never seen before trying to touch and hug them, so just having someone come in to the kennel to sit and read is a really good idea.

It gets them used to people coming in and out.

The only thing I would say is that dogs respond to your tone of voice far more than what you say, so I think the choice of book could be quite significant.

People will probably want to steer away from scary, racy or tense books for something a bit more happy.

I would say Mills and Boon would be good but The Bourne Supremacy would be bad!

People should stay away from books that are really exciting and stick to something a bit more gentle.

I have never heard of this kind of scheme before and I think it's fantastic.