Ruff Readers

On a sunny Saturday morning earlier this month, 6 year old Sophie eagerly entered the Children’s Room at the , ready for the stories to come.

Not your typical young patron, Sophie is a 90-pound, impeccably groomed Newfoundland and one of three dogs who alternately participate in the library’s Read to a Dog program through the non-profit organization Tufts Paws for People.

“The goal of the program is to improve the self-confidence in children when reading,” said Linda Dashnaw, head of children’s services at the library. “It targets the reluctant reader or any other new reader who wants to practice reading. It also helps children become familiar with dogs while in a very safe and controlled environment.”

According to Harue Midtmoen, animal-facilitated therapy coordinator volunteer, the Read to a Dog program has been a frequent offering in Shrewsbury for approximately four years. During the session, Midtmoen welcomed children and parents, answered questions, monitored time and distributed post-reading certificates and bookmarks to participants.

Throughout the hour-long reading program, dog owner and trainer Kim Hood of Uxbridge sat along-side Sophie and the readers. Children took turns reading to the dog individually. Hood and her dogs are registered pet partners, attesting to the fact that they work well together, and that the dogs have been “evaluated for good manners and temperament,” she said.

On this particularly Saturday, 7-year-old Michael was the first to read and was considerate of his reading partner, making sure the dog was always able to see the illustrations. “I loved it,” said his mother Jill Ishkanian of Shrewsbury, “It was so sweet.”

Michael summed up his reading experience as “awesome.”

Peter Welland of Shrewsbury brought his 5-year-old daughter to read. Maya is a regular at the program because of her love of both dogs and reading. “I think every time there’s a dog here, we come,” Welland said. “It’s a tradition.”

Maya, thoughtful in her book choice, shared Dogs by Emma Helbrough, thinking that Sophie would be interested in a familiar topic.

First grader Jack Cormier chose to read a Star Wars story to his content listener. Jack is gaining more reading confidence from the program, said his mother Natasha Cormier. “It’s fantastic,” she said. “Such a great program and the dogs are wonderful. Jack keeps asking to come back.”

Cormier, who herself grew up around Newfoundlands, said that her family will be adopting their first dog in six months or so. She is happy to give Jack this experience at the library in preparation for his own pet.

The popular Read to a Dog sessions are usually limited to eight readers, with priority given to those who are registered. Though walk-ins are welcome, Midtmoen strongly suggests registration prior to the day of the event.