New reading program has furry helper

Courtesy Photo | Toby, a certified therapy dog, poses for a picture during a Paws for Reading session at Mickelsen Community Library on Fort Bliss March 16. (Photo by Abigail Waldrop, Fort Bliss Bugle Staff)  

EL PASO, TX, UNITED STATES

03.16.2016

Story by Abigail Meyer 

Fort Bliss Public Affairs Office

Everyone loves a good book, especially Toby. He prefers to be read to, and doesn’t mind if you stumble over a few words. As long as he gets a few scratches every now and then, he doesn’t even care what kind of book you read.
Toby is a certified therapy dog and the star of a new program here. It involves him, a big purple couch and lots of books. Mickelsen Community Library on Fort Bliss hosts Paws for Reading every first and third Wednesday of the month. The setting is a judgment-free zone encouraging children to improve their reading skills by reading to a dog, which is where Toby comes in.
“He is so adorable. He’s so cute and fuzzy – I’m gonna die!” said Lilie Foat, 6, during a Paws for Reading session March 16.
Foat said she knows Toby liked it when she read “The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree” to him.
“Because he laid on my leg. Seriously, he laid on my leg,” Foat said.
Susanna Beirich is a certified therapy dog handler, and her son, Joshua, 14, is a certified junior handler. One of them is always present during sessions. Toby has served as a therapy dog in many different capacities since he completed training in 2012.
“He was amazing. He caught on so fast to everything. We just flew through (the classes) and he loves it,” Beirich said.
Toby is a 7-year-old spaniel-mix, rescued by the Beirichs from a kill-shelter when they were stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. They saw how gentle and bright he was and thought he might do well as a therapy dog. Once he was certified, they started taking him to hospitals, Warrior Transition Units and eventually the library there.
“We started the Paws for Reading program because not only is it helping these kids getting their reading better and getting rid of the fear that comes with reading out loud, we also wanted to help out because these are military families and military kids,” Joshua Beirich said. “Their dads or moms can be deployed and there’s a lot of stuff they may be going through and so having the dog to chill with, read with, has always been a good thing.”
This is exactly why Lilie Foat’s sister, Margaret, 10, reads to Toby.
“I get a little stage fright in reading in front of a bunch of kids, and reading in front of a dog, who’s calm and settled, makes me feel better about it,” said Margaret Foat, 10.
Toby sidles up to anyone who looks like they might be willing to give him a scratch and gently leans on them until they comply. Children who were reading to him couldn’t resist giving him hugs, and in return, he may have given a few licks.
The Paws for Reading program started in January, and those interested should sign up at the library in advance. The Beirichs hope to expand their therapy activities with Toby to other organizations on Fort Bliss.

• Date Taken: 03.16.2016
• Date Posted: 03.31.2016 13:51
• Story ID: 193980
• Location: EL PASO, TX, US