Literacy and Illiteracy

It's not easy to find someone who can work with Bow. It has to be someone who has good social skills, can relate well to children and animals, is motivated to try, will work for peanuts or for free, and is not afraid to stand up to bullying by Bow. Oh, and there is one other requirement, one that just recently was brought to my attention: they have to be able to read.

It's funny, but I never actually posted that requirement in any of my ads, taking for granted that in this day and age, all human applicants would be literate. Interns have to have a college degree. Caretakers have to have a high school diploma or equivalent. But I never stated in so many words that they must be able to read.

Lawrence told me yesterday that he knows of a man who would be just perfect for Project Bow, except for one small problem.  This man is excellent with animals. He has trained dogs in the military. More recently, there was one dog whose behavior was so unruly that no one could handle him, but this man took him in and had him very well behaved in no time at all. He loves children and is kind and considerate. He is willing to work for room and board. There's just one problem: he can't read or write. How would Bow talk to him?

Bow spells on the glass to get his message across. If a caretaker can't read, how will he know what Bow said?

This morning, Bow said to me: "Mommy, don't talk to the guy who can't read."

"Why?" I asked.

"It's too hard to write on the computer," Bow spelled.

Come to think of it, maybe an illiterate volunteer is exactly what we need! If he can't read, then Bow will have to use the text-to-speech program to communicate with him!