Today was the first visit from Winston the therapy dog at the library. He did a great job, and two very happy families got to hang out with this gorgeous and sweet pooch. Winston is a golden doodle, and he’s very tall and very soft and (despite the golden) pitch black. He’s one of the coolest looking dogs I’ve ever met, and he is very, very well behaved.
In case you’re not familiar with the use of therapy dogs in libraries, the idea is to provide children with a non-judgemental listener to whom the children can read aloud. Dogs don’t speak English, and they certainly don’t read, so they don’t know if their child reader friend has just mis-read a line from the book. All the dog knows is that he or she is happy to hang out with his or her young literary fans. And the kids who read to a therapy dog come out smiling and happy and with renewed reading confidence.
It’s a terrific program, and I’m so glad that Julie, Winston’s owner and handler, came to me with the proposal of doing a program at the library. And I’m really looking forward to the remaining four “Paws and Read” sessions that are scheduled for this summer.
This is cool! I could visit too — I love to be read to! Jean reads to me all the time, and I sit very still and listen carefully. I can be a Very Good Dog! And I’m cute too. Can I come visit your library???
Sure, Owen! Love to have you!
(And you can stay with Jim and Ophy and Pippa and me when you’re not on duty at the library!)
Dear Abby,
We just discovered your blog and after reading about Winston would like to send you a complimentary copy of Planet Of The Dogs, the first book in our Planet of the Dogs series.
We support several therapy reading dog programs so that kids can read dog books to dogs.
The Planet of the Dogs is an illustrated series of first chapter fantasy-adventure books for children and dog lovers of all ages.
You can preview the book in advance. For sample chapters, please visit http://www.planetofthedogs.net.
For information on the concepts behind our books and our involvement in therapy dog reading programs, visit http://barkingplanet.typepad.com.
Please reply to this email with a postal address and we will be pleased to send you the book.
Best wishes,
Robert McCarty
Barking Planet Productions