Darlington Library introduces kids to therapy dogs
Luna, a five year-old greyhound, visited kids at the Darlington Library last week and taught them about therapy dogs.
Photos by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Members of the Home School Hub and After School Club at the Darlington Library met a special visitor last week when Luna, a five year-old greyhound, dropped by to teach them about the many helpful duties performed by therapy dogs.
Luna and her human friends, including owner/handler Olivia Roop and dog trainer Linda Damiano from Therapy Dogs International (TDI), visit several area nursing homes each month, bringing smiles to elderly residents. Other local TDI teams visit area hospitals, paying special attention to pediatric patients who might benefit from some one-on-one bonding with a four-legged friend.
Therapy dogs have a long history of aiding people through difficult times, and TDI-certified dogs have eased stress for adults and kids after tragedies like the 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes and the 2012 school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut.
Locally, the Darlington Library uses therapy dogs to help allay anxieties of young readers through the Paws to Read program, held on the second and last Saturdays of each month from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
“Paws to Read helps encourage reluctant readers and gives them a pleasant experience to link with reading,” says Liz Mannheim Davis of the Darlington Library. “Kids get corrected all the time when they’re reading and that makes it even more negative, but when they read with a dog there is no correcting and they’re so non-judgmental.”
Lanky and tiger-striped, Luna looks built for speed, and – like most greyhounds – she can run like the wind when turned loose. But her owner says that despite her natural quickness, Luna just didn’t have the competitive temperament to excel on the track.
“I adopted her when she was about three,” said Roop of her greyhound. “They retired her because they said she was too goofy to take racing seriously.”
While on duty at the library, Luna gently nuzzled the curious kids and let them pet her right up until story time, when she relaxed on a mat and attentively listened to the tale of TJ, a rescue dog who got a job as a therapy animal.
Her past as a racer didn’t disqualify Luna from this rewarding second career; in fact, any breed of dog can become a therapy dog, regardless of their pedigree. Rescue dogs and shelter dogs can make wonderful therapy dogs, provided they have the right stuff for the job.
Therapy Dogs International evaluates dogs for fitness as therapy animals based on a number of criteria, like how well they resist distractions, recover from being startled, obey commands, respond to children, and conduct themselves around people with various medical issues (including patients in wheelchairs).
If you would like to have your dog evaluated for qualification as a therapy dog, contact TDI at (973) 252-9800 or email tdi@gti.net.
For more information about the Paws to Read program, Home School Club and After School Club, call the Darlington Library at (843) 398-4940.