Notes: Super huge thanks to Mari and Sammy for their help and feedback, and to Mari and co for the doggies and the title!
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.
Hope you enjoy!
Doggone Cute (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"So, Kaitlyn, I hear this whole read-to-the-dogs program was your idea," Mary said as their group made their way toward the library's front doors. Steve led the way with Dylan and Jacob as Mary, Aaron, Kaitlyn, and Jenna followed close behind. Catherine was several steps back with Angie who had insisted on walking herself, holding her mother's hand on one side, and her cousin Joan's hand on the other.
"Oh, I just helped get it going," Kaitlyn said, flushing a little. "It wasn't all my idea."
"So modest," Aaron said. "Joseph told me you talked to the librarian about the program and even put her in touch with your friend at the animal shelter."
"Ms. Aida," Kaitlyn said. "She runs the shelter and she's also part of a therapy dog group. I saw an article about a read-to-the-dogs program at a library on the big island and I asked Ms. Kristin if she'd ever done anything like that. She said she did a few years ago, but not in a while so I talked to Ms. Aida about it and they did the rest."
"See? Your idea," Mary said, grinning.
"And that's not all," Jenna added, nudging her daughter gently. "You even suggested they do the program during Spring Break."
"Oh?" Aaron asked. He grinned. "Couldn't have been just for us, we didn't even know we were coming until a couple weeks ago."
"No, that was just lucky," Kaitlyn said, smiling back at his teasing. "I suggested it because then kids would be encouraged to read even though they're not in school. I mean, I like to read all the time, but not everybody does and it's really important. Especially for younger kids."
"That's so true," Mary agreed. "That was a really great idea, Kaitlyn. I'm sure Ms. Kristin was very appreciative."
"She was," Jenna said.
"And I bet all the kids who come will be, too," Mary went on. She glanced back to where her own daughter was walking with Angie and Catherine. "I know Joan is, and if Joan's excited, then Angie's excited."
Kaitlyn grinned. "Yeah."
"And there's Jacob," Aaron said. "Who's …"
"Look!" Jacob exclaimed as he stepped into the lobby. "They've got the planets up!"
"Who's Jacob," Jenna finished with an chuckle and a shake of her head. "Jacob, library voice, remember?"
"And they're not planets," Dylan said. "They're just big–"
"Ba'!" Angie cried as they too reached the lobby and she spotted the giant spherical paper lanterns hung from the ceiling. "Mama! Ba'! See!" She dropped both Catherine's and Joan's hands to reach toward the lanterns several feet over even her father's head.
"Those do look like balls, don't they, honey?" Catherine asked.
"They're so big!" Joan said, looking up in amazement. "My library doesn't have those."
"I guess they'd need one with rings to be the planets," Jacob said. "But I still think they kinda look like 'em."
"I think so, too, buddy," Steve said, giving the ten-year-old's hair a quick tousle. "Now let's go find these dogs. I bet they're just waiting to be read to."
"Let's go!" Joan said. "Come on, Cousin Angie."
"S'go!" Angie eagerly echoed. When Catherine tried to pick her up, she squirmed and pushed back with so many emphatic "No!"s that Catherine finally sighed and put her down.
"We'll be right behind you," she said resignedly as Angie once again took her hand and Joan's and started a slow but determined pace.
"We're a family," Jacob said. "We'll stay together."
"Yeah," Dylan echoed. "No rush."
Jenna smiled proudly, and the group made their slightly slower way to the large program room off to the right of the lobby.
They had arrived a little early so that Kaitlyn could help with the preparations. The librarian Ms. Kristin spotted them through the small window and opened the door for them.
"Hey, come on in, our special guests just arrived, too," she said, smiling warmly and motioning to where four dogs and their humans were settling into different corners of the room.
"Ohh yay," Kaitlyn said, clapping her hands excitedly. She spotted a familiar face and waved. "Hi, Ms. Aida!"
"Kaitlyn, hi," a woman in her early 50s gave a soft command to the mid-sized brown dog beside her and approached the group. "Jenna, good to see you again. And Jacob and Dylan."
"Hi, Aida," Jenna said, shaking her hand. "This is Steve and Catherine and their daughter Angie, and Mary and Aaron and their daughter Joan."
"Nice to meet you all," Aida said. "We're really excited about today's program."
"Doggie!" Angie shouted, finally wiggling around enough legs to see into the rest of the room. She bounced excitedly, pointing. "Doggie!"
Aida grinned. "Yes, we've got some doggies here today, and they're all excited to meet you. Come on, let me take you around and introduce you."
She led them back to where her own dog sat, obediently waiting for his first reader as she had instructed.
"This is my pride and joy, Star," she said, rubbing his head affectionately. "He's a Shepherd/terrier mix, seven years old, and just the sweetest thing on four legs you'll ever meet."
"Doggie!" Angie said, reaching forward to touch his brown fur.
"Wait, wait, Angie," Catherine said, gently holding her back. "Remember, we have to ask first to pet dogs we don't know yet."
Aida smiled. "That's a good rule to follow." She looked at Angie. "You go right ahead, cutie. Let him sniff your hand first. Star loves meeting new people."
"Okay, honey," Catherine said, guiding Angie's hand toward Star's nose so he could sniff the back of it. "Now, gentle." She guided Angie's hand to make sure the toddler wasn't too rough with her new friend as she rubbed the fur on his neck.
"Ohhh, doggie," Angie sighed happily.
"Can I pet him, too?" Jacob asked.
"Of course," Aida told him.
All of the kids took their turns, followed by the adults who couldn't resist the dog's beautiful, alert brown eyes.
"Now let's meet some of Star's friends," Aida said. After giving Star a command to stay, she led them to an old man who was sitting in a chair next to a large Rottweiler. "This is my good friend Mac and the beautiful Cleo."
"Now, this looks like a crew of great readers," Mac said with a smile.
"We are!" Joan agreed. "Well, Cousin Angie can't read yet, but we'll help her. She loves books!"
"Almost as much as she loves dogs," Steve quipped as Angie was already reaching for Cleo.
Catherine repeated the process of asking permission and letting Cleo sniff Angie's hand.
As the other kids were taking their turns, Jenna said, "You know who she looks like? The dog in those books … oh, what was his name …? Dylan, do you remember? You used to read them."
He winced, shaking his head.
"Ohh, I know what you're talking about, there were a bunch of them," Mary said. "Ahh, what was his name?"
Kristin, standing at a nearby table organizing a display of potential books to read to the dogs overheard and chimed in. "Carl," she said, holding up a book titled Carl's Birthday with a large Rottweiler in a birthday hat surrounded by cake and presents on the cover.
Aaron chuckled. "I believe that's what they call a librarian mic drop."
She grinned.
"Ohh, I bet Cleo would like to hear that one!" Jacob said. "Can I read it to her?"
"Sure," Kristin said.
Aida smiled, leaning over to the adults as Jacob ran to grab the book. "It never fails, whenever I do this somewhere, at least some of the kids will pick books with dog characters because they think the dog will like those best."
"Really?" Catherine asked, smiling. "That's so sweet."
"Isn't it?" Aida agreed. "I've heard Clifford the Big Red Dog about five million times."
Next they met a small white Maltese named Clover and her human Melissa.
"Ohhh, she's so little," Joan said, the first to pet her. "Is she a puppy?"
"Actually, she just turned six," Melissa told her. "But you should've seen Clover when she was a puppy. I could hold her in one hand." She held her hand out palm up in demonstration.
"Whoa," Dylan said, amazed.
Jacob's eyes widened. "That's small!"
"Like Midnight when we found him," Kaitlyn added.
"Ohhh," Joan said, smiling as she imagined it.
"Most therapy dogs you'll see at programs like this are at least three years old," Aida explained. "They usually start training after passing the first two levels of obedience classes and the Good Citizen test which all takes a couple of years."
"Like Cammie," Kaitlyn said, looking at Catherine and Steve.
Aida looked curious so Steve explained, "Our dog passed three levels of obedience and the CGC."
"Oh, good," Aida said, nodding. She leaned over as Catherine quickly fished out her phone and showed her a picture. "Beautiful dog! Have you ever thought about doing therapy work with her?"
"She's done some unofficial visits at the VA," Catherine said. "But not the formal training yet."
Aida smiled at Angie who was petting Clover with Mary's help. "You have been a bit busy over the last two years, I'd say."
Steve and Catherine smiled in return watching their daughter as she oooed over Clover's soft fur.
Finally, they met the last dog in the room, a golden retriever named Rosie.
"How old is she?" Joan asked, curious after learning Clover's age.
"Rosie is ten," her human, a young woman named Maria, told them.
"Like me!" Jacob exclaimed.
"Oh yeah?" Maria said with a warm smile. "That's cool. But while being ten gives you lots of energy, it makes Rosie very chill."
Kaitlyn nodded. "Because in dog years that makes her way older."
"That's right," Aida said. "See the white fur on her face?"
"Oh yeah," Jacob said.
After they'd all greeted the "very chill" Rosie, Kaitlyn turned to Ms. Kristin. "Is there anything we can help you with before the program starts?"
"It would be great if someone could make another sample or two of the dog craft," Kristin said, holding up the simple paper plate dog mask. "That way we can put at least one on each end of the craft table."
"Jacob, can you do that?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Sure!" he said. He looked at Joan. "Do you want to help?"
She beamed. "Yeah!"
Kaitlyn nodded her approval and Jenna fought a smile at her daughter in full organization-mode.
"And I just changed my mind on the books," Kristin went on. "Let's put several on the floor next to each of our furry friends so kids don't have to keep coming back up to this table for a new book. Then I can use this table for the word searches and crossword puzzles and other fun doggie activities for kids to do as they wait for their turn to read."
"We can do that," Kaitlyn said, motioning to Dylan, who nodded back.
"We'll help, too," Mary said, touching Aaron's arm.
"Looks like we're going to say hello to the doggies again," Catherine said as Angie tugged her back toward Star.
"Doggie! Mama, go!"
Kristin grinned. "Okay, I'm going to run off a few more copies of these worksheets because I think we're going to have a lot of people here today. Kaitlyn, you're in charge until I get back."
Kaitlyn smiled, standing up a little straighter, and nodded. While Kristin hurried off to make her copies, the others set about their tasks. Kaitlyn sorted the books into different piles to put by each dog. Kristin had selected a wide variety of books spanning reading levels and interests, so Kaitlyn wanted each dog to have a variety as well. Dylan, Mary, and Aaron delivered the piles and displayed the books near each dog while Steve went to check on Joan and Jacob at the craft table. Angie led Catherine to each dog so she could pet them again.
Once they were all set up, Kristin said, "Why don't you guys get the ball rolling and start reading to the dogs?"
"Yeah, that way there's more time during the program for the other kids who come to get a chance to read," Kaitlyn said. She turned to Joan. "Which dog would you like to read to first, Joan?"
Joan bit her lip, looking around the room. "I like them all."
"I think you'll get a chance to read to all of them," Kaitlyn said. "Right, Ms. Kristin?"
"There should be time," the librarian agreed.
Joan brightened. "Okay, can I read to Clover first?"
"Sure," Joan said. "Cousin Angie, do you want to go with me?"
"Go Jo-ni!" Angie said, nodding excitedly. She reached for Joan's hand and looked back at Catherine. "Mama?"
"I'm coming, baby girl," Catherine said, following them over to Melissa and Clover along with Mary and Aaron.
"What about you, Jacob?" Kristin asked. "Do you still want to read the Carl book to Cleo?"
"Yeah!" Jacob said. "And then I want to read to Rosie since we're both ten."
"Sounds like plan," Kristin said.
"Will you come with me, Uncle Steve?" Jacob asked.
"Sure, buddy," Steve said, following Jacob over to the large Rottweiler who was patiently waiting.
Kaitlyn looked at Dylan. "I know you said you weren't going to read to the dogs and you just came to help, but there are four dogs …"
He smiled. "Yeah, I could read a little. Star seems really cool."
"Okay, then I'll read to Rosie and everyone coming in will see exactly how it works," Kaitlyn said.
Jenna smiled proudly at her daughter taking the lead.
Kristin nodded, also smiling to see the once very shy girl stepping up without hesitation. "Perfect."
Everyone settled into the places and the reading began.
Joan was ecstatic to see her favorite Elephant and Piggie book, Let's Go for a Drive! in the display of titles to read.
Mary chuckled, leaning over to whisper to Catherine. "She's had this one memorized since she was four years old. But now she knows most of the sight words, too."
"That's great," Catherine said.
"Come on, Cousin Angie," Joan said. "Sit by Clover so you can pet her while I read."
Catherine helped situate Angie and stayed with her while Joan held up the book and began to read. Angie kept a hand on Clover's soft fur while she listened to Joan, laughing along when her cousin laughed and bouncing at the sing-song refrain.
"Great job, pumpkin," Aaron said encouragingly.
"Clover likes this one," Melissa said with a smile.
Joan beamed. "I think Cousin Angie likes this book, too."
"She sure does," Catherine agreed.
Once Joan was done with that book, Aaron found some small paperbacks that were at her level for her to try. The others were ready to rotate dogs and Angie went over to Kaitlyn who was going to read to Cleo.
"So you want to sit in my lap, Angie?" Kaitlyn asked.
Nodding, Angie turned and backed up slowly a few steps before plopping into Kaitlyn's lap. She put a hand on Cleo's back and looked at Kaitlyn.
"Doggie," she said.
"Yes, that's Cleo," Kaitlyn told her.
Angie twisted, picking up Kaitlyn's hand and putting it on Cleo's back as well. "Doggie." She nodded as if satisfied. "Book."
Catherine, Steve, and Jenna looked on, smiling as Kaitlyn opened her chosen book and then returned her hand to Cleo's back and started to read There Are No Bears in This Bakery.
"Look at the kitty cat, Angie. He's like a detective."
"Ki-cat," Angie said, touching the illustration in the book.
Jenna shook her head in silent amazement. Leaning closer to Catherine and Steve she said quietly, "Isn't it incredible how far she's come? Remember how she wouldn't go near Cammie without holding my hand? Now look at her. Not only did she suggest this program and help get it organized, she's sitting there reading a book to a huge Rottweiler. I never would have believed it five years ago."
"Amazing," Catherine agreed.
"She is," Steve echoed.
At the top of the hour, Kristin opened the room up to the public. Kaitlyn and Dylan assisted with sign-in sheets so that everyone who came in would get at least ten minutes to read with one of the dogs. Jacob and Joan showed off the dog crafts they'd made so that kids who were waiting for their turns could make their own mask.
All told, about forty kids and parents came to the program and all of the kids got a chance to read to at least two of the dogs. Everyone was thrilled with the program and looking forward to repeating it regularly.
Kaitlyn blushed but accepted the applause and congratulations from the crowd when Kristin made a point of announcing that she had been the one to suggest the program and put the wheels in motion. Aida put in her own words of thanks to the preteen as well.
After everyone had left, more thanks and congratulations flowed her way and Kaitlyn smiled.
"You know, I was thinking …" she began slowly. "Maybe next time we could try a read-to-the-cats program."
"Now you're talking my language," Kristin said. "I love cats. I've got two at home."
Aida grinned at Kaitlyn. "You might have a little tougher time finding enough cats who will sit still for a book, but if anyone can do it, Kaitlyn can."
Hope you enjoyed!
Thanks to all the amazing therapy dogs who do programs like this in communities all over!
Books:
Carl's Birthday by Alexandra Day (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1995)
Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell (Scholastic, 1963)
Let's Go for a Drive! by Mo Willems (Hyperion, 2012)
There Are No Bears in This Bakery by Julia Sarcone-Roach (Knopf, 2019)
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