One program I’d been encouraging Ronnie to participate in is the children’s library’s “Read to Dogs” night, where specially trained therapy dogs listen to children read to them. But every time I would ask Ronnie if she wanted to register to participate she would give a nervously emphatic, “NO.”
As many of our friends experienced, both Ronnie and Alexa had the habit of screaming at the top of their lungs if they saw a dog in their vicinity, even the pet of someone they loved and trusted. Ronnie’s fear was understandable; she’d been bitten by a family pet when she was four. Alexa learned the fear from her big sister.
The tides began to change during a friend’s birthday party when they got to know the sweet, gentle, passively loving golden retreiver Zoey (who, sadly, has since gone on to Doggy Heaven). In the course of an afternoon they discovered dogs are not the terrible creatures they’d imagined, but can be a wonderful source of joy and friendship.
Since then, they’ve become more and more brave as they allow themselves to gain more experience around dogs. Nowadays, Alexa will run up to and ask to pet any dog she meets. Ronnie is still a bit leery and is not likely to initiate contact, but is content to follow her sister’s lead.
During a trip to the library a few weeks ago, Alexa noticed the “Read to Dogs” posters featuring a beautiful golden retriever like Zoey. She was ecstatic and asked if she could please sign up. Since the program is for readers, it would be Ronnie who would have to do the signing up, so she begged and begged her big sister to participate. Ronnie said YES!
Ronnie woke up with a sense of excitement this morning, even though she would have to wait until 7:30 tonight for her timeslot with a therapy dog. She carefully chose a book from her bookcase, one she said she thought a dog would find interesting:
What Makes a Magnet (you'll have to ask her about the logic behind that one. I have no idea).
Ronnie, Alexa, and I headed over to the library in the rain, umbrellas and What Makes a Magnet in hand. When we arrived in the children’s library, we noticed a yellow lab (who we later learned is named Liberty) laying sleepily in a quiet corner, her owner by her side, and a little blonde boy sitting cross-legged reading a book about dragons to her. As we walked around the library, we noticed two more similar scenes of quiet reading to dogs. Ronnie said, “They’re not even on leashes! But I won’t be scared!” and Alexa had on the biggest grin you can imagine.
7:30 finally arrived and Ronnie was called over to meet Trey, an 11-year-old three-legged German Shepherd mix, who gets around in a comfy red wagon with the help of his owner. After introductions, which included much petting and giving of doggy-treats, Ronnie settled down by Trey’s big quilt and read him her book. She even made sure to show him the pictures. Alexa sat quietly by, mesmerized by the experience. She hasn’t really shown great interest in reading on her own, but on her own initiative she got out her
Bob Books to read in bed this evening, because, she says, “I need to learn to read since I can’t wait until it’s MY turn to read to dogs!”
Here’s a short clip of Ronnie reading to Trey. Sorry about the poor sound quality - she was reading really quietly - I guess since she was in a library and all... ;)
