Therapy dog visits library

WANTAGE — Alert pointy ears, satiny big brown eyes, a calm, collected reserved listener. That was Wren, a 2-year-old sable German Shepherd, who wearing a red therapy dog vest enjoyed story after story by eager youngsters.
The children reserved their 10-minute slot reading to Wren at the Sussex- Wantage Library on June 20.
Wren’s owner Sue Boland of Fredon explained to the children and their parents how she volunteered to raise Wren for the Seeing Eye but the shepherd ultimately was rejected by the seeing eye program due to a medical condition. Wren has since recovered and became a certified therapy dog visiting nursing homes, schools, hospitals and libraries. The Read to a Dog program allows youngsters to practice reading and sharpen their skills with an uncritical doggie ear Children who read aloud to their four-legged friends gain self-esteem, confidence as well as public speaking skills and most importantly a love of reading and animals.
Incidentally, many of the young readers chose to read Wren stories about dogs. She enjoyed Pig and Pug read by Brandon Babcock. A book featuring Scooby Doo by Abigail Hanson of Vernon, while her brother Gaius Hanson read The Night Before First Grade which had first graders constructing noodle poodles.
After stories, children happily received a sniff or a lick from a contented Wren while Ms. Boland slipped a treat to each child to reward his or her reading partner.
Further information on therapy dogs is available from Therapy Dogs International or TDI by calling 973-252-9800.