Politics & Government
Doggone Good Listener: Sunny Brightens the Lives of Shy Readers
Therapy dogs are key to weekly program at La Mesa branch library, where youngsters practice their out-loud skills with a nonjudgmental audience.
Sunny is 11 years old and a good citizen. He plays nicely with others and is an attentive listener. And like all his age, he likes attention.
But this twice-a-month volunteer at the La Mesa Community Library is very special because of his patience and good nature. Sunny is a collie (and Lassie lookalike) who lets shy children read to him.
With the help of his owner, Gloria Laube, he has been aiding children since 2005.
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Sunny is a star of a weekly library program called Read to the Breed—which helps youngsters improve their self-confidence, literacy and self-esteem by reading to canines each week at the La Mesa branch on Allison Avenue.
Children’s librarian Anna Hartman said the program gives “kids the opportunity to read in a relaxed setting, especially those who have a challenge reading.”
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She explained that parents sign up their children for 15-minute reading session with one of three dogs brought in at 3:30 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays and the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month.
Petting and curling up with the dogs relaxes the kids, Hartman said, and “from what parents tell us, their kids have increased enjoyment and actually want to read.”
About 10 children regularly take part, but new readers and new dogs are welcome, Hartman said. Interested people may contact her at 619-469-2151.
Laube, Sunny’s owner, said she read to children as a volunteer in her children’s school years ago, and then learned about the Reading Education Assisted Dogs program. Sunny received the Canine Good Citizenship certification and also went through temperament testing.
She asks children who read to Sunny to sign his book, I’ll Teach my Dog 100 Words, where every page is filled with signatures.
While the idea of a child reading to a dog may be cute, Laube said, there is more to it than that. “He isn’t going to judge them or laugh at them if they mispronounce a word.”
Consequently, parents report that their children’s reading scores improve after working with the therapy dog.
Sunny even had some children read to him in Spanish and French.
“He’s very patient,” Laube said. “He’s a good dog.”