Children across Madison are practicing reading skills with an unlikely audience — therapy dogs — as part of a recurring Madison Public Library (MPL) program aimed at improving literacy in a low-stress environment.
The Read to a Dog program brings trained therapy dogs and their handlers into library branches on select weekdays through partnerships with Guardian Whiskers and the Alliance for Therapy Dogs. Librarians and volunteers say the initiative helps young readers gain confidence while strengthening basic reading and phonics skills.
“It increases reading fluidity and [technique] with very low stress,” Ruth Sias, a children’s librarian who has worked for the City of Madison for 20 years, told The Daily Cardinal. “The dogs are non-judgmental and happy to just sit and listen.”
Many therapy dog teams have participated in the program for several years, including Shelly Weber and her white, fluffy champion show dog Bennie.
“I decided when I retired from real estate government that I wanted to get certified and have a therapy animal,” she told the Cardinal. “This program was really what my goal was.”
Therapy dogs complete extensive training to become certified, including a Good Citizen class. Additionally, the handler takes a knowledge assessment, and each handler-dog team completes a skills test together.
For Weber, the most rewarding part of volunteering is seeing the impact it has on others. She specifically recalled a time when a University of Wisconsin-Madison student recognized her and her dog from another event and exclaimed, “Is that Bennie? I have his picture on my fridge.”
Fourteen-year-old English springer spaniel Lili and her handler, Candace Weber, started with the library in 2017 and have participated in Read to a Dog since.
“We’re originals, me and Lili,” Candace Weber joked.
When asked why she volunteers, Candace Weber responded, “I just think libraries are one of the most valuable things we have in our society for maintaining democracy and opportunities to be in contact with all kinds of people and all kinds of ideas. Having a dog who encourages kids to come to the library is really a wonderful thing to contribute.”
Judy Barbian and her 12-year-old black labrador retriever Roxy have also been with the library nearly since the program started. Roxy particularly stands out to the children because she wears fun costumes, such as pink sparkly heart antennae and a red bandana.
“The goal of the day is to make somebody smile,” Barbian said. “It’s not just you, it’s the bigger world. I feel blessed to be able to do this.”
Roxy and the other dogs also participate in events such as elementary literacy days for children with disabilities, hospital visits, UW study days and Dane County Regional Airport visits — all to brighten others’ days.
Sonya Sankaran, who brought her children to Read to a Dog at Sequoya Library with her mother Lalita Sankaran, praised the event and library system for bringing the community together.
“My kids really benefit from being around animals. Ron is in second grade, and he’s working on his reading aloud skills, so it motivates him to read,” Sonya Sankaran said.
Lalita Sankaran championed the library for bringing together community members of all ages. She explained she used it to research her upcoming trip to Egypt, attended a library cooking class and enjoys their seed library.
“It’s great how many things they have going on here for free that you can just walk [into]. It's an important equity, because people don’t all have resources at home,” Sonya Sankaran said.
MPL hosts several upcoming Read to a Dog events at the Lakeview, Meadowbridge, Monroe Street and Sequoya branches.
