Therapy canines moonlight with young children at Richardson Public

Tag : Child Hat

Sprawled across the floor at the Richardson Public Library, a60-pound saluki pounded his white fuzzy tail on the carpet andnuzzled closer as Gabriela Fernandez turned the pages of a book andread "woof" in the animated tone of an 8-year-old.
Da-sharq, one of six therapy dogs, wore a bright yellow hat as kidslined up to take 10-minute turns reading as part of the library's"Tales for Tails" program.
"Look, he's really listening to me," Gabriela said,gently stroking Da-sharq, who quickly shed his hat in favor of somelove.
Since June, children in kindergarten through fourth grade have beenspending Sunday afternoons reading to the canines.
Heart of Texas Therapy Dogs were invited to the library afterlibrarians realized that the 10 stuffed animals in their Paws andPages program were always checked out – two dozen more arebeing ordered.
Meanwhile, the real dogs are a hit.
Tales for Tails is so popular that the library plans to continuebringing in the dogs once a month after the initial program endsAug. 3.
The library also plans to include them in a bilingual story time.Yes, the dogs are trained to take commands in both English andSpanish.
"The mix of dogs and kids is magical," said TamaraGolubski, library youth services supervisor. "One mother saidshe couldn't get her child to read out loud until they startedcoming to read to the dogs."
Having a furry nonjudgmental friend nearby helps a new reader buildconfidence, said Liane Martins, an assistant in the children'sdepartment.
"Dogs don't mind if you make a mistake," she said.
The 120 Heart of Texas Therapy Dogs also visit hospitals, nursinghomes, schools and other nearby libraries with their 100 handlers.
"Reading to these gentle dogs helps kids with their fluencybut they don't realize it because they're just having fun,"said Barbara Wilson, the organization's co-founder.
Sherry Isaacs said the program has encouraged her daughter,Madison, 7, to read more at home.
"I find her reading to her own dogs now," she said.
Dogs wagged their tails and some napped as children read Spot's Show and Tell by Eric Hill, Dog Breath by Dav Pilkey and other books at the Richardson Public Library.
"He's listening; he's just concentrating really hard,"handler Alice Brochner said as Da-sharq slowly shut his eyes,lulled to sleep with a story.
Louie, an Australian shepherd and spaniel mix, rolled over for atummy rub when it was 6-year-old Benjamin Ai's turn to read.
Benjamin backed away at first. But he slowly reached his hand outto pet Louie's soft fur and then began to read confidently.
"Dogs can help even the most timid reader," said Louie'shandler, Martha Duke, a retired teacher.
They can also become a child's best friend.
"I want a dog for my seventh birthday," Benjamin told hismom as he checked a book out and headed home.